Redemption
by DeathscytheVII
Summary: Slade is back, and this time his plans have changed. Beast Boy hopes to bring back a long lost friend while Robin fights to put his rivalry with Slade to rest. Will the team pull through? some BBT,some RS
1. Nemesis

**Episode 1: Nemesis**  
  
The cave was unusually dark, and lifeless. The only signs of activity coming from water that dripped through the sharp stalactites that littered the cave roof. Gears and steel beams protruded from the rock walls, a sign that this place was once a facility of some kind, now it was abandoned. Although mostly dark, a small crack in the cavern allowed some light to come through, blanketing the cave in a faint light.  
  
A tall mountain dominated the center of this cave, and it was connected to the cavern tunnel by a large land bridge, which seemed to be naturally formed. On the mountaintop, was a small platform, where the statue of a little girl stood.  
  
Beneath her stood a plaque, and a bouquet of flowers left by someone in the past.  
  
Meanwhile, feet away, a new sound entered the cavern, disturbing a nearby group of bats as they scurried away to the exit, avoiding this mysterious figure.  
  
The visitor walked calmly to the platform, inspecting the walls as he passed, stopping before the platform to read the small plaque left by someone.  
  
_Terra : A teen titan, a true friend_  
  
He smirked, then with strong flick of his hand, swept the plaque off its resting place, where it shattered into a million pieces in the darkness below. He looked coldly upon the statue, his face still in the shadows.  
  
The man began, in his cold all-too-calm voice. "Did you think I was going to let you off so easily my dear? ....."  
  
The man picked up a rock from the plaque, grasping it into his fist before it exploded into a cloud of dust. He walked out of the shadow, the small light in the cave reflecting off the rim of his mask...  
  
"Remember...you belong to me."  
  
_Cue opening song _  
  
"WHO WANTS ALL TOFU WAFFLES!" A delighted beast boy, wearing a puffed up chef's hat, shouted as the titans relaxed in the lounge. Cyborg was sitting over the couch holding up blueprints, trying to find a way to fix the T car. Beastboy had made his Piece de resistance! Two gigantic towers of chocolate covered tofu waffles, with sprinkles, syrup and a cherry on top.  
  
"Comon cy! Best in da house!" Beastboy poked his head up between cyborg and his papers.  
  
"Much as a love to B, got some work to do, can't believe the T car broke down, again. Besides, I'm laying off waffles considering what happened last time. Although I do have this strange craving for steak." Cyborg clutched his growling stomach.  
  
"You can thank Beast boy for that." Raven said with a slightly bored tone, she was meditating as usual, in mid air.  
  
"Heh...heh.." Beast boy said nervously.  
  
"Well how about you Raven?" He said, jumping the couch with one of thee plates full of pancakes and syrup.  
  
Raven didn't even bother opening her eyes. "No...."  
  
"Aw common Raven! I made them myself!" Beast boy continued, not noticing the books cyborg left beside the couch as he ran. "Look there's even little chocolate –WHOA!"  
  
"Thanks....." Raven said sarcastically, trying hard to ignore the chocolate syrup dripping across her face.  
  
Beast boy nervously rubbed the back of his neck, bullets sweating from his face. "Heh, heh, my mistake."  
  
Cyborg, seeing the whole scene, began burst out laughing. "Beast boy strikes again eh Rave?"  
  
"Hello everyone! Oh raven! What's happened to your hair??" Starfire asked inquisitively as she flew into the room.  
  
Raven groaned, trying her best to control the urge to throw beast boy out the window. "Why does this happen to me."  
  
"Good news Titans! I just-?" Robin began as he walked into the room, then stopped. (at the sight of a chocolate covered raven)  
  
"Err..am I interrupting something." An astonished robin asked.  
  
Raven stopped floating now. Beast boy recoiled in terror, expecting perhaps a pancake in the face, instead Raven just casually wiping the chocolate covered tofu off her cloak. "Just coping with another disaster."  
  
"My waffles are not disasters!" Beast boy protested.  
  
"Who said I was referring to those." Raven replied with her usual sarcastic wit wiping the chocolate from herself.  
  
"Don't worry raven, I'll make it up to you, maybe cook you dinner tonight!" The Green titan offered helpfully. Smiling nervously.  
  
"I'm eating out." Raven replied smugly.  
  
"Then maybe-"  
  
"Alone." Raven cut him off.  
  
An outraged beastboy barely had time to reply before the entire room shook violently. Lights came crashing down from the ceiling while a nearby pillar began tumbling down to earth.  
  
"Robin! Look out!"  
  
The boy wonder, honed by years of training, instinctively did a back flip to avoid the pillar of rock and concrete. Star blasted several pieces of debris which threatened to fall over cyborg's head.  
  
"What's going on?" Beastboy asked, eyeing Raven.  
  
"Don't look at me." Raven shrugged as she formed a protective shield above herself.  
  
The Earthquake was getting increasingly violent, and soon beams from the roof were falling, one of which struck the fridge, flattening it while beast boy's leaning tower of waffles disappeared under a torrent of dust and rock.  
  
"Aw man, I spent all morning on that." Beast boy groaned.  
  
Raven ignored Beast boy's mournful loss of his nutritious breakfast, focusing instead on holding the beams of the building together.  
  
Suddenly however, the Earthquake stopped.  
  
"Cyborg, whats going on?" Robin immediately inquired.  
  
Cyborg instinctively read the scanners attached to his right arm, the machine made a series of bleeps as it tried to locate the source of all this.  
  
"Major earthquake resonating from out of town, by the old quarry?" He said this last exclamation with a puzzled tone.  
  
"Alright titan's, let's move out!" Robin, thinking that some people might be needing help, automatically instructed the team.  
  
****  
  
The Old rock Quarry was abandoned for some time, from old geological reports that the caves were now unstable. Yet the team was familiar with the old quarry, having fought here against cinderblock before. But aside from that, it was a very quiet place....  
  
The team made it there in no time, and were greeted by the ominous shapes of old rusted Machinery. Gigantic cranes which were bent unnaturally in the sun. Although it may have been a productive place once, it now resembled a junkyard in a crater. Old machinery with metal rail tracks criss crossing the tunnels inside. Some tracks were twisted from the great heat of the day.  
  
"Anything now cy?" Robin asked inquisitively.  
  
"No...Nothing." Cyborg vainly attempted to point his detector arm at the various tunnels, but no reading came out. "I don't get it, it was going haywire minutes ago."  
  
Then the detector started going off, with cyborg pointing to one of the darkened caves. "Wait! I'm getting signals from the mine, several hundred meters down. Sesimic readings."  
  
A slight chill went through Robin's spine, this was getting all too familiar.  
  
"Slade..." He spoke outloud to no one in particular.  
  
"Aw not this again." Beastboy grumbled, then leaned over to whisper to cyborg. "Ok, I'll distract him while you go in and hold him..."  
  
"It's real this time! Do you think I can imagine this earthquake?"  
  
Beast boy, surprised that robin could hear him, was taken aback. "And I thought my ears were good at hearing..."  
  
"It could be natural you know?" Cyborg suggested.  
  
"No, it seems...too familiar, something is wrong."  
  
"I don't sense the presence of anyone." Raven offered helpfully. "Robin, Slade is gone." She put her hand on his shoulder helpfully. Robin bowed his head in thought. Was he wrong again?  
  
The ground shook even more violently now, and quickly regaining his senses, robin watched as the rocks around them began shaking. Cracks began appearing on the ground as the tremors intensified.  
  
"Whoa...!" Beastboy shouted as he fell into backwards from a huge crack that formed under him.  
  
Then it came.  
  
****  
  
They were not new to the titans, and the team remembered them all too well the last time they tried and attacked their home. Rockets flared, sending the cylindrical shaped bodies flying even more into the air, before coming to a stop. The robot worm's drill folded back into its body, revealing a head, which contained a circular mouth full of sharp teeth, and red eyes. The worm took its time, extracting itself from the hole until it stood towering about the titans, its scanners coming to life while its laser eyes searched for any viable targets.  
  
The titans watched all this without talking. Except for the occasional Beast Boy comment.  
  
"Ok, so I was wrong." Beast boy said with awe at the gigantic worm, it seemed to have gotten way bigger.  
  
"Titans! Go!" Robin shouted, throwing a cluster of explosives ball bearings at the mechanical beast.  
  
The worm gave a great roar as the bombs exploded into a blinding flash, obscuring the titans. When the smoke cleared, they were already separated.  
  
"Cyborg! Beast-boy! You know what to do!" Robin yelled out. "Star! Common! We'll distract it!"  
  
The worm burrowed again, surfacing with lightning speed behind the Tamaranian. Starfire however was quicker, and she turned around, her eyes were glowing with her bright green rage.  
  
She threw a furious barrage of starbolts at the worm, which engulfed it in a gigantic explosion that rippled throughout the quarry. The worm however, sliced its head above the smoke and hit starfire with its red laser eyes. The alien girl screamed, falling onto a broken crane, which dented as it broke her fall.  
  
"Star!" Robin cried out.  
  
"Do not worry! I am unharmed!" She shouted quickly, then picked up the crane and threw it at the robot, which simply swerved out of the way.  
  
Cyborg meanwhile, latched onto the bottom of the worm's body, with beast boy transforming into an octopus to get a good grip on the Serpent's cold metallic surface.  
Cyborg's arm immediately switched to a power drill and began grinding its way through the robot's thick skin.  
  
"Almost there!" Cyborg shouted.  
  
The worm however, was smarter this time, and it lashed its body about violently. Cyborg stopped his drill and instinctively reached for something, anything and held on for dear life.  
  
"Whoa..WHOOAAA, steady!"  
  
Like a bull trying to knock off its rider, the worm circled the quarry with impressive speed, all the while shooting lasers at Raven and Starfire, who returned fire with their own powers.  
  
"Cy! Common! I can't hold on forever!" The Green Octopus managed to squirt out.  
  
"We gotta keep it still!" Cyborg shouted.  
  
"I'm on it." Raven began concentrating black energy into her hands, and her eyes began glowing white. "Azerath mentrion zinthos!"  
  
The rock wall of the quarry began collapsing now, pinning the body of the worm down as a mini avalanche buried its body, while its head tried still lashed about violently, trying to break free.  
  
"Cyborg! Now!" Raven had deliberately guided the avalanche around the two dazed titans, who immediately began to work.  
  
"There!" Cyborg exclaimed as his drill struck through. "Now beastboy!"  
  
The green titan gave a nod, and immediately transformed into a rat, jumping into the circuitry of the worm to destroy the mechanical monster inside out.  
  
It worked like a charm, less than a minute later after Beast Boy jumped out, small explosions rocked the inside of the worm's metallic body, and soon its head and body exploded in one fiery blast, burying the quarry in a hailstorm of dust and metal parts.  
  
"Booyah! Way to go B." Cyborg roared a cheer as he high fived Beast Boy. The team settled down in the wake of the robot's destruction. They stood uneasily in the box canyon of the quarry as the dust began to settle.  
  
"Now, if my movie senses are right, this is when the psycho bad guy makes his appearance, right there through the dust!" Beast boy instinctively pointed to the tunnels, where the remains of the burning worm lay.  
  
Raven, although tempted to tell Beast Boy what she thought of that theory, decided that she was too mature for that, instead she settled for dropping a small piece of granite on the unsuspecting Titan's head.  
  
"Ouch! Rave, if you didn't like my theory you could have just said so."  
  
"I found this much more appropriate." Raven replied, starfire trying hard to suppress her laughter as a gigantic bulge began appearing on Beast Boy's Head.  
  
"Your friend has a wily imagination." A new voice echoed from above the Quarry floor. The titan's looked out, and saw an all too familiar Silouette in the sunlight.  
  
"Slade!" Robin gave a deathly glare.  
  
"Glad to see that your memory hasn't suffered from my little gift Robin. But then again, you can never forget me can you?" Robin's fists clenched as he heard every meticulous and calm word ushered from Slade. There was something maddening in hearing how taunting his voice always was, like something in the back of my head.  
  
"I knew you'd be back."  
  
"My my, Robin, is that all you can say after all this time? Not even bothering to catch up on old times?" He gave a little snicker. "I'm hurt." Slade smirked, each word dripping with the same mocking tone that he always used. He gave the last remark just after he jumped down onto the quarry, in front of a tunnel.  
  
"You'll be hurt all right, when I'm through with you!" Robin took out his Bo staff, and charged at the masked man.  
  
"Robin! Wait!" Starfire cried out, flying to stop the boy wonder. Slade stood perfectly calm, and when it was evident he would not defend himself, Robin checked his advance.  
  
The ground began trembling again.  
  
Suddenly three more worms bursted from underneath the ground, stretching out of the ground as if reaching for the sky, before bending their heads with the scanners. It was perfectly coordinated, as the worms sprouted out of the ground just inches in front of robin, while Slade stood right where he was right in between the two worms, hands clasped behind his back.  
  
"What are you planning this time?"  
  
"If you are so eager Robin, then why don't you come and find out." Slade ran into the tunnel, disappearing into the shadows, leaving the Titans to contend with the three worms.  
  
"Get ready guys." Cyborg yelled as he charged his cannon, Raven and starfire followed suit, readying their energy blasts.  
  
The worms however, were not interested, and each began burrowing into the quarry, making tunnels of their own.  
  
"Aw man, not again!" Beast Boy groaned.  
  
"Are they going after our home?" Starfire asked with concern.  
  
"No, my seismic readings indicate they are going into the mine." Cyborg reassured her.  
  
"Besides." Robin interjected, putting his bo staff back on his belt. "Slade isn't one to try the same thing twice. He's in there, and we have to find him."  
  
"It will be pretty hard to tackle three of those things." Cyborg commented.  
  
"He wants us to split up." Robin continued. "He's done this in the past."  
  
"But its not like we have a choice, we can't leave even one of those monsters alone."  
  
"No, you are right. Raven, think you can handle one by yourself?"  
  
"No Problem." She said with a tone of assurance.  
  
"Good, Star, you're with me, Beast boy, cyborg, you two seem to know how to handle these worms. Try to work your way through them as fast as you can, we can't afford to stay split up for long." He nodded towards the two titans.  
  
"Will do!" Cyborg shouted, then began running into the tunnel to catch one of the worms. Beast boy, not to get outdone, transformed into a cheetah and disappeared with Cyborg into the darkness.  
  
"Well, that leaves two for us. Let's go." Robin pointed towards the tunnels.  
  
"But what about Slade?" Starfire asked concernedly, "your not going after him?"  
  
"Slade can wait." Robin replied, remembering back to how his obsession with Slade nearly killed him. "Besides, my team needs me, I can't just let you guys have all the fun."  
  
Raven gave a nod. "Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"  
  
And so they went off, into the darkness.  
  
****  
  
"Aw man! For a 100 ton metal thingy, they can sure move fast." Beast boy huffed as he flew upwards to where the worm carved a hole in the tunnel. "Why am I letting you do this again?" he asked cyborg.  
  
"Because I can't fly? Remember?" Cyborg said dryly.  
  
"oh." Beast boy said in realization. "man, I wonder if the others are having better luck."  
  
****  
  
The chase had led them into a small underground chamber, where the worm had decided to stop and fight. Popping its head above the ground like one of those little moles in the wack-a-mole arcade games, it scanned the room for any presence. Raven stealthily glided behind the worm, and began chanting...  
  
"Azerath Metrion...." The ground rumbled again, and Raven gasped in amazement as a drill came up from underneath her. She flew upwards, while detaching several boulders from the cavern to smash the worm's tail beneath her. It was obvious that these worms were improved, she had not expected the last attack.  
  
The worm attacked again, trailing her flight path with a steady stream of lasers, which carved deep scars into the walls as she flew around the room. Then raven stopped, concentrating for this next attack.  
  
She sliced through the air with her hands, creating two rippling blades of energy that were sent propelling toward the worm's neck. They struck, and immediately two deep cuts began forming on the Worm's body, followed by an explosion.  
  
"Did I do it?" Raven wondered to herself out loud.  
  
The answer came as another burst of laser fire came through the smoke. Raven barely had time to form a protective barrier as the full impact of the blast knocked her into some rocks.  
  
This wasn't going to be easy.  
  
****  
  
"Star! Watch out!" Robin yelled a warning as he detonated the explosive he attached on the worm's back. He hoped it would work, there was enough c4 in that bomb to blow up an office building. Yet the mechanical beast came off without a scratch.  
  
Robin grimaced, and instinctively jumped behind a rock, narrowly avoiding the lasers that the Worm fired.  
  
"Robin!" Starfire shouted, then let loose a torrent of star bolts into the monster's back. The mechanical beast roared as if it was an annoyance, and focused on Starfire now, firing a steady laser beam that tracked her every movement.  
  
The Tamaranian however, had planned ahead, and she flew around the ceiling of the cavern several times, dodging the lasers with relative ease as she continued her circular path.  
  
When Starfire ended her confusing flight, she floated down to the worm's head, staring at it eye to eye. The lasers began charging, and Starfire let out a friendly smile, then pointed above the worm.  
  
The confused worm looked up, and barely had time to react as a huge cleanly cut slab of rock fell onto it, burying the entire Chamber in smoke and dust.  
  
"Perhaps that was too much." Starfire said, slightly embarrassed. She checked her surroundings now, where was Robin?  
  
"Robin?" her voice echoed through the empty chamber. There was barely time to react though, for under the pile of Rocks, the worm gave a defiant roar, and soon the entire mountain of boulders exploded into a large ray of red. The battle was far from over.  
"Robin?!" The concerned Tamaranian cried out. "Where are you?"  
  
****  
  
The collapsing rock had divided the chamber into two, unbeknownst to Starfire. And as the battle raged on on the other side of the Rock wall, Robin lied there, feeling as if a million needs were suddenly stabbing his throbbing head. The pain was so intense, that he could barely see straight, let alone stand, but he could hardly ignore the voice that cackled through the chamber.  
  
"Out of Breath already Robin? Don't tell me you've gotten soft." The voice snapped from the darkness.  
  
Robin took a second to regain his bearings, and when the cavern suddenly became clear to him, he took a deep breath. Calm down, he told himself, calm down.  
  
"Is the little robin afraid of the dark?"  
  
"We'll see who's afraid of what." Robin grinned, confident as ever, he took out his bo staff.  
  
"This should make things interesting." Slade replied in his same calm and flat voice. The masked man stepped out of the shadows now. Although he was unarmed, he carried with him an air of confidence, as if he took notice to the bo staff that was gripped hard in Robin's hand.  
  
"just like old times eh Robin?" Slade gave a mocking smirk, then ran towards the boy wonder.  
  
"Bring it ON!"  
  
****  
  
"Stay still why don't ya!" Cyborg grunted as he pinned the worm's body against the wall. Normally this would have been physically impossible, if not for the support of a gigantic wooly mammoth which rammed the worm's body alongside the wall, pushing for dear life.  
  
"Almost there!" Cyborg's drill stabbed deeper and deeper through the armoured plating. Man was this hard!  
  
The worm roared as if in pain, then lashed against its captors, trying to break free. Lasers fired wildly from its eyes, causing boulders to rain down from the cavern roof.  
  
"Comon Cy, I can't hold it forever!" Beastboy was grunting under the strain.  
  
"Almost ....there...Got it!"  
  
"Finally!" Beastboy said in relief, then transformed into an ant and crawled his way to the drill's opening.  
  
With the woolly mammoth gone, the worm was now freed and began a rampage throughout the cavern, slicing through rocks in a vain attempt to locate something in its scanners, then it stopped. Beast boy was already inside in his mouse form, chewing through the random circuitry that made the robot tick. It was crashing.  
  
Cyborg watched uneasily however, as the worm split into two parts. The head and a small portion of the body detached just as the rest of the body vanished in a bright orange flash, shaking the entire cavern in a gigantic explosion. Rocks tumbled down now, obscuring Cyborg's view of Beast boy as he escaped the explosion. He was ok, that was a relief.  
  
More rocks fell however, and soon Cyborg's attention was diverted not to the collapsing cavern roof, but to the remaining part of the robot Worm, which slowly began deploying new sets of arms and legs from its sides, as if it were a spider now.  
  
"Oh brother.... Give me a break."  
  
****  
  
Robin grunted as Slade quickly disarmed him, throwing him against the wall with an impact of a truck.  
"You have grown weak robin, too weak. A pity that it will have to end like this." Slade's voice was cold, deathly serious.  
  
"You won't get rid of me that easily!" Robin yelled, charging Slade as he recovered his stance. The titan's punch however, hit thin air as Slade ducked under his arm, and with lightning fast reflexes punched Robin hard in the stomach.  
  
Robin reeled back in pain, and held his now tender stomach.  
  
"Too slow Robin, always were."  
  
It was all too familiar now, as if that apparation that had haunted him had come back. Robin however, needed to buy time and he began speaking, or tried to anyway, as his stomach was killing him.  
  
"You still haven't answered my previous question Slade." Robin spat out. "Why did you come back? And why did you send me that mask?" Robin was curious about the mask that had given him those delusions months ago. Slade was a bad guy, he gave him that, but he had always treated Robin as a prize to be won, the only titan he had addressed with respect in all the times he had known them. It would seem unlikely that now all of a sudden he would want to kill him. But would he?  
  
Slade gave a modest sardonic laugh.  
  
"I have come to tell you robin. My offer of Apprenticeship has expired. Now, I am afraid that you represent only a threat to me, and all threats." He gripped his fist. "Must be eliminated. Starting with your pathetic little organization you call a team. Pity though, I would have enjoyed molding you into my successor."  
  
"Still can't get over that obsession with me Slade? Why else did you lure me here?" Robin shouted with a pent up rage, a rage that he had felt ever since he saw his friends almost killed by this maniac.  
  
"Once again Robin, you think this is all about you." Slade replied. "No Robin, my purpose is much simpler than merely luring you here. You see, I am going to destroy your team, I might as well start with you.  
  
Robin grinned. "Are you confident you can take me down first because I'm the only one without powers?" Robin said with a confident tone as he picked up his bo staff from the ground.  
  
"Just thought I'd take care of the brain first." Slade gave a triumphant grin, then charged robin head on.  
  
"Sorry Slade, not today." Robin pressed a button on his belt.  
  
Suddenly Slades charge halted, a small explosion flashed through the cave as Slade cried out in pain. Robin had managed placed some mini explosives on his neck when he pretended to miss Slade.  
  
"Why you little...." Slade barely had time to recover when Robin rushed forward. Slade attempted to parry the bo staff but Robin was too quick. A quick thrust quickly pinned Slade against the wall and to Robin's surprise, the momentum of the Bo staff which had driven Slade into the wall had also impaled him.  
  
Robin, taken by surprise, back away from Slade.  
  
"Hehe, things aren't always what they seem. And now Robin, a goodbye Present." Slade quickly began laughing now, and Robin began hearing a beep originating from somewhere, and it all too quickly became apparent to him.  
  
"You cannot escape Robin." Slade shouted, "It is over!"  
  
Robin jumped clear of the explosion, ducking at the end of the cavern. The explosion lighted the dark tunnel clear as day, and sent several rocks slamming against the wall. The blast was so powerful, that it launched his bo Staff into the wall just inches above his head.  
  
Following that, was a slight bump, and Robin turned to look beside him, and saw...Slade's head. Was it over?  
  
He did not know why he was doing it, but Robin instinctively reached for the mask, anticipating who it was. He had spent countless hours theorizing himself, and had even played with the idea that he was someone he knew. But he had rejected all those explanations, as they never did seem to fit into the madman's descriptions.  
  
Robin's hand almost trembled as he removed the mask, and his eyes widened in amazement at what he saw.  
  
He quickly slammed the mask against the wall in rage, cracking it into a million broken pieces. He was angry, for all he saw was just a face he had seen hundreds of times before.  
.....  
  
The cold eyes of a robot.  
  
"A fake? What are you planning Slade...."  
  
****  
  
The blast had destroyed most of the underground chamber, and he found himself coughing above the dust, trying to find a way out of this dark dark place. He had tried hard, listening for sounds of the battle through the walls, but he had found nothing. The cavern was barely lit, perhaps a small slit of light coming from the upper levels, but aside from that, Beast Boy had to feel the rocks to navigate his way around.  
  
"Aw man, It'll take weeks to get this stuff out of my hair, not to mention all the bruises! Stupid raven....." he muttered.  
  
"Always the comedian, aren't we?"  
  
Beast Boy jumped in surprise, and he couldn't believe his eyes as he spied the menacing figure standing by the tunnel entrance. Beast boy scoffed and watched as the all too familiar masked figure stepped out of the shadows.  
  
"Oh great," Beast boy replied dryly. "are you going to be stalking ME now?"


	2. Old Wounds

  
  
The cavern was dark, very dark to be sure, and Beast Boy could barely see a few feet in front of him, even though the room was eerily lit from several small slits that let in thin beams of light. Yet, he could recognize that despicable voice anywhere.  
  
"Save your strength, I came here to talk." Slade began laconically as he walked towards Beast Boy.  
  
"I have nothing to say to you." Beast boy's voice was full of hate.  
  
"Oh? But I do. I do." Slade continued on, with no change in his taunting voice. He proceeded to the center of the cavern, stopping just far enough from Beast boy that he could make out his silouette in the darkness  
  
"I have a proposition for you."  
  
"Not interested." Beast boy shouted back, transforming into a gorilla and throwing a slab of rock at Slade.  
  
The masked man however, was quicker, and simply back flipped out of the way as the boulder exploded harmlessly into hundreds of pieces.  
  
An uncomfortable silence settled now as the dust began filling up the cavern. After a few seconds however, it was quickly broken.  
  
"Really now? I believe you will have little choice in the matter." Slade tossed a small object through the dust; and it bounced softly as it landed with a small scraping sound next to Beast Boy's feet. He opened his eyes in surprise as he picked up the butterfly shaped pin. A torrent of images now flowed through Beastboy's mind.....  
  
_"You were the best friend, I ever had." _  
  
_"You'd said you'd be my friend no matter what. Remember?"_  
  
"What have you done with Terra?" Beastboy demanded firmly.  
  
"I believe the real question is, what have you done for her? I recall it's been almost a year since our last scrape. Yet, she still sits there...petrified and vulnerable. And I thought you were friends."  
  
That last remark opened up old wounds. It was true that it had been over a year, but through all the villains and fights, they had been trying to get her back. He remembered Robin testing out his new gadgets, to see if they could reanimate Terra. He had even spent several afternoons with Raven, trying to look up a spell in one of her many books, but nothing helped.  
  
"Ironic, however, that unlike your friends, I have been finding a way to bring her back. Or is it that you don't trust her enough to bring her back?"  
  
"Liar!" Beast Boy shouted with a deep felt rage. "We tried! We never gave up!"  
  
"Yet. She still lies there." Slade's voice became more dark now, grim and oppressive.  
  
"We'll find a way, and I won't need your help."  
  
"On the contrary my friend, you will. Because unlike your so-called "Team". I have found a way to bring her back." The masked villain's voice was triumphant, fully aware of the fact that he had the edge now.  
  
"And if I refuse?"  
  
Slade's eyes shot a deathly glare. "I will leave that up to your imagination."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"A simple request, three to be precise." Slade held up three fingers mockingly in front of Beast boy. "I believe that is simple enough even for you."  
  
"You're lying. We've tried so hard to bring her back and your expecting me to believe you found a way just like that?"  
  
Slade gave a dark chuckle, picking up a small rock in his hand, as well as taking out a vial from his combat belt.  
  
"You recall my Cronoton Detonator?" Slade spoke casually, while loading the vial onto a small gun. Then he looked up at Beast Boy with a dark smile. "Oh but of course you do, I nearly destroyed you with it."  
  
"Get to the point." Beast boy couldn't believe he was doing this. He was talking with this...this maniac! This psycho! Who had caused so much pain, so much destruction, yet the thought of Terra falling into the hands of Slade again was too much. He promised he would bring her back, and he was determined to keep it. He watched with avid curiousity.  
  
"Nanoprobes, you are aware, can destroy things at a microscopic level. I have taken that technology one step further, and created Nano-drones." The capsule was loaded into the gun now, and Slade pointed it at the rock in his palm, his eyes still staring coldly at Beast Boy.  
  
The rock was engulfed in a blinding red light as Slade pulled the trigger, Beastboy watched as the rock slowly began...growing?  
  
"Nano-drones are like the Nanoprobes, they can change matter at the microscopic level, as well as add onto it." He held out the rock now, and it slowly began changing shapes and size in his hand.  
  
"Nanodrones however, can also destroy, just like nanoprobes." The rock began to crack and twist now, before crumbling into dust in Slade's hand. The demonstration was over.  
  
"Three tasks Beast Boy, and I will bring your precious little friend back."  
  
"What? You're gonna turn her into Jelly?" Beast boy said cynically.  
  
"You are mistaken. Your friend is in a state of hibernation, alive, but trapped, inside a casing of pure obsidian. Your little friends could not find a way to bring her out. Because frankly, you had no way of safely breaking her out without harming her."  
  
Slade had been correct, perfectly accurate in his assessment. And that only frustrated Beast Boy more.  
  
"So the decision is up to you. Perform this favour for me and she will be free, unless you are willing to wait several thousand years before her obsidian shell prison erodes away."  
  
"My friends will have a solution! I'm not going to depend on you!"  
  
"Oh, but you will, you will see that there is no other alternative." He continued on derisively. "Go ahead. Crawl back to your little friends. In time, you will see that the only thing they will offer you is a shoulder to cry on. Nothing else."  
  
"You're lying." Beast boy repeated again. "Besides, even if I do agree to your stupid favour, I won't be able to do it."  
  
"You are referring to your little team? Do not worry about that, I have already figured that part out. All that is left, really, is your choice. How much do you value....a friend?"  
  
A sharp explosion echoed the chamber now, small grains of sand already streaming from the roof.  
  
"Beast boy! Are you alright?" It was Cyborg's voice. He was already drilling through the caved in rock. "Hang on B, I'm almost there!" more light was now entering the cavern as Cyborg made more progress with the rock.  
  
"Your believe that your teammates can solve everything for you, can offer you support or whatever you seek. However, the reality is quite different. To gain something, you must sacrifice something else. Does your life even have a purpose? or are you content to be under the shadow of all your 'friends', the team fool? To be the butt of every joke?" Slade's voice was calm and careful now, as if he was speaking to a child now. He slowly began receding back, into the shadows.  
  
"It is quite evident that your team has no liking for my former apprentice. What, then, will you do, when I revive her? Your Team, the Titans as you call it, are only shackles that bind you. They offer you promises, hopes, aspirations, and dreams but Nothing more. Cut off those worthless connections and you will truly gain what you seek. I can give you what you seek."  
  
He could bring Terra back, but then what? The team would never trust her again. NO, he thought, shaking his head. I can't fall for another one of Slade's tricks. He's doing this on purpose. But still...he missed her so much.  
  
Slade was disappearing now, and Beast boy watched silently as the last words echoed through the dark chamber.  
  
"I will be waiting for you."  
  
The rock broke loose and a much-relieved cyborg and starfire awaited him on the other side.  
  
"Are you harmed?" Starfire asked with concern.  
  
"No." Beast boy replied flatly. "I'm fine."  
  
Cyborg did not know what to make of this, but he guessed BB was still in a bad mood over that rock on the head incident. "The worms got away, so we're regrouping. So let's go, my circuits are going to jam if we stay under here in this dust any longer."  
  
And so they went back to the surface, while Beast Boy's thoughts were clouded with the revelation he had just heard. The future suddenly seemed dark, apprehensive and filled with uncertainty.  
  
**  
  
(Back at the tower)  
**  
  
"At the risk of sounding redundant, it looks like Slade is back." Robin grimly wiped the dust and soot off his costume.  
  
"And he's got bigger toys." Cyborg commented as he continued repairs on his right arm. That worm he had destroyed really packed a punch.  
  
"That never stopped us before." Robin continued on, while surveying the lounge. The last Earthquake had left the room in shambles, the TV was smashed, rubble and destroyed steel beams lay on the floor, while the remains of Beast Boy's leaning tower of Waffles continued to smell sweet under a mountain of concrete and steel, next to the destroyed fridge.  
  
"We better clean up this mess while we think up some ideas." Raven suggested.  
  
"Did Slade tell you about his plans Robin?" Starfire inquired. "He always seemed to."  
  
"No. All he did was tell me that I was no longer his choice for an apprentice." Robin continued on, pacing the room in contemplation.  
  
"That's a relief!" Cyborg replied. "No more calls at five in the morning eh B?" He gave Beastboy a friendly nudge.  
  
"This is serious Cyborg." Beast Boy replied, and Cyborg look at his friend as if he had suddenly sprouted horns. The rest of the team looked on in surprise.  
  
"Beast boy, for once, is right, we have to find out what Slade is planning." Raven broke the uneasy silence, maintaining the focus of the conversation.  
  
"My guess is, that Slade will come to us." Robin said with an almost grim confidence.  
  
"Then we shall be ready!" Starfire raised her arm up in a gesture of triumph.  
  
Robin nodded. "I'll be monitoring the city for any activities, until then all we can do now is prepare."  
  
"Beast Boy?" Raven asked, not in her usual dry tone, but in a surprisingly concerned voice. "Are you alright? You haven't made one stupid comment since the Quarry."  
  
"I'm fine Rave, just...thinking."  
  
"About what my friend?" Starfire asked sincerely.  
  
"Well...It's been one year since we lost Terra. I was wondering how close we were to finding a cure." Beast Boy explained.  
  
"Don't worry Beast Boy, we made a promise remember? We'll get her back. I'm working on a way." Cyborg replied.  
  
"How can you be sure it will work this time?" Beast Boy said wearily.  
  
"There are many bugs, but don't worry I can fix it in no time." Cyborg assured his friend.  
  
"I have been researching a way to bring her back since you helped me a few weeks ago Beast Boy." Raven placed her hand on his shoulder. "I am sure there is a spell in one of my books, I just have to find it."  
  
"Its all going to take time isn't it." Beast boy lowered his head. "Time, time. Always more time." He restrained himself from raising his voice. Yet his voice betrayed the pain of having to wait so long. The torture of knowing that they had let down their friend once again.  
  
Robin stepped up now, the tone of the conciliatory friend. "Have faith Beast Boy, we'll find a way. Besides, we've got more immediate problems to worry about, like Slade."  
  
"Slade...Slade, its always about Slade! What about Terra? She was our friend, one of us....We've promised her we'd bring her back! But things like these always get in the way! At this rate, we'll –"He stopped.... "I'm sorry."  
  
"No..." Robin replied back, slightly embarrassed. "I should be the one apologizing, you are right Beast Boy, but, things like these take time. All we can do is wait, and keep hope and her memory alive."  
  
"Be cheerful my friend! We will bring her back, when that day comes, we will all celebrate with a great feast of Glork!"  
  
"Thanks Starfire." Beast boy said weakly. He turned away now, troubled thoughts already clouding his mind. Robin spoke of Terra as if she was dead. _Keep her memory alive _But she wasn't dead, he was talking as if he had given up. Had the team really given up?  
  
"He just needs some time alone." Raven offered helpfully. Cyborg could only shrug, he didn't know what to do.  
  
"Well, we might as well get ready, who knows when Slade will plan his next move."  
  
Cyborg, Raven and Starfire gave an acknowledging nod, and then the titans went their separate ways. Robin dove deep into his work now, in his usual Slade-obsessed fashion while Cyborg checked the computer to see if there were any weaknesses in the Tower's security. While Starfire took up the task of doing of impromptu home improvement, clearing the steel beams while trying her best to fill in the cracks in the walls.  
  
Beast boy went back to his room now, jumped back onto his bed as he looked beside him. The heart case that he had spent hours making for her still lay on his desk. He picked it up and opened it, watched blankly as he stared at his reflection in the glass. He felt a deep pain in himself, the realization of the fact that he had failed. He had broken his promise. He had always been the funny one, bungling his way through situation after situation, always escaping even the deadliest problems unscathed. But for the first time in his life, he truly had no idea what he was going to do......  
  
"Terra, I'm Sorry." 


	3. Tremors

**Episode 2 : Tremors**  
  
It had been three days since Slade first appeared, since then nothing. The team waited uneasily as they prepared themselves for whatever Slade might throw at them. Cyborg constantly screened the tower grounds, while Raven and Starfire conducted aerial recon.  
  
Robin, as everyone expected, never left the monitor room. There was something almost paradoxical in the fact that Robin's obsession with the masked man was almost as dominant as Slade's obsessions with his former apprentice. They tried to help him, Starfire, the most vehement one, but Robin would not hold back, trapped in his little personal duel with the tyrant that he had been fighting for as long as the team could remember. It was a fact now, Slade, as long as he was out there, would continue to haunt Robin until he was stopped once and for all.  
  
"He's got to be out there somewhere." Robin slammed the supercomputer desk in frustration. "he wouldn't just show up without telling us something."  
  
"Maybe Slade was serious, perhaps he is working different this time?" Cyborg offered as a suggestion.  
  
"That's possible." Raven conjectured, she was scanning a wall of TV screens that displayed certain areas of the city. "But contact or not, I'm picking up nothing on the surveillance." Ever since Slade's last attempt to destroy the Titans, it was Robin's idea to ensure that they had their own network to monitor the city, just as Slade had his, but now, this new network was proving futile in finding Slade, had he anticipated this?  
  
"I have checked everywhere I could. Slade is not anywhere to be seen." Starfire commented, slightly shy at the fact that she could produce nothing that could have been of assistance to the Titans.  
  
"Maybe he's hiding again, he wants us to find him." Cyborg deduced. "Yea, he's changing his tactics."  
  
Raven did not offer any suggestions. Instead she watched Beast Boy with concern as he sat on the couch. His face was neutral, perhaps a bit tired, and he hadn't been making those idiotic comments for days now....Was something wrong?  
  
"Beast Boy, don't you usually have one of your crackpot theories to offer? I was half expecting to hear you say Slade was training an army of underground mole people or something." Raven asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe he's just......dozing it off in a cave somewhere. I don't know. He likes dark dank places." Beast Boy said, in a re-energized tone.  
  
The rest of the team met this with silence, before Raven could say anything else however, the silence was quickly broken by the static on the Television monitors. One by one the images on the surveillance systems blotted out, each TV replaced by a piece of a picture, eventually forming up into one gigantic screen. The familiar contemptuous voice echoing over the speakers. Slade....  
  
"Good to see you again Titans. I trust you are ready for what I have in store for you...."  
  
_Cue opening _  
_  
When there's trouble you know who to call  
Teen Titans!  
From their tower, they can see it all  
Teen Titans!  
  
When there's evil on the attack  
You can rest knowing they got your back  
'Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
With their superpowers they unite  
Teen Titans!  
Never met a villain that they liked  
Teen Titans!  
  
They've got the bad guys on the run  
They never stop 'till the job gets done  
'Cuz when the world is losin' all control  
Teen Titans GO!  
  
1.. 2.. 3.. 4....  
Teen Titans!  
_  
  
****  
  
"What are you up to Slade?" Robin demanded immediately.  
  
"My my Robin, always the same anger, always the same demands. I think you will find that that approach will be quite useless now." Slade was laughing now, and it dawned on Robin that he was enjoying every little minute of this. "I am glad to know that things haven't changed while I was away, but I am curious to see whether you have gotten soft."  
  
"Whatever you throw at us Slade, we'll beat it!" Robin threw up his fist in defiance.  
  
"Together." Starfire added her support.  
  
The face on the screen showed no change in emotion, continuing in his mocking tone. "How very touching, however, You are assuming I am going to give you an easy task like last time? Don't be naïve robin. This is the real world now, and your team will not have it easy. You are familiar with Semtex Robin?"  
  
Robin paused in thought for a second, remembering a weapons training course he had run when he was still under Batman's wing. It had been ages since and Robin now considered himself an expert in that field.  
  
"I am aware of them." Robin replied flatly.  
  
"As you should be Robin. A crystalline high explosive, powerful enough to blow up even the most sturdiest of structures if properly placed."  
  
"Another one of your tests Slade?" Robin asked with disgust.  
  
"Oh, this is not a test Robin, far from it." The head on the screen disappeared now, followed by a flash of images that varied from the skyscrapers of downtown, to the hydroelectric dam outside the city, to even the pier where they had previously fought Blackfire before.  
  
"Twenty five targets Robin, each building varying from Police stations to Hydro-electric dams. All loaded with enough Semtex at their structural points to level them to the ground. In five hours, the resulting explosions will throw your precious city into chaos, making it easy pickings."  
  
"Twenty Five?!" Cyborg cried out in astonishment. "How did he manage to do that? We had the city covered."  
  
"You're surveillance system has been recently installed am I not correct?"  
  
Robin clenched his fists tightly now. This was going to be harder than he thought. Slade had been planning this even before they had installed their new system, was he that good? He was about to say one more thing before Slade interjected him once again.  
  
"I suggest you split up, I doubt however, that you have a better alternative, you cannot possibly find them all without doing so. Do not even try it. I can also assure you that each bomb will be heavily guarded." Slade went on. "Remember Titans, playtime is over. This is a new ball game now, so you best hurry and see if you can find them all, but the real question is Titans. Can you possibly stop them all?" The screen went blank.  
  
"Titans, let's move out!"  
  
****  
  
"I don't like it, but we'll have to split up. Cyborg, you handle the police stations and fire departments. Raven, you got the Dam. Beast boy, go to the industrial district. And Star? The Power Plant is yours. I'll take downtown." Robin instructed as the team made its way towards the city.  
  
The Team made good time, at first. Cyborg managed to find and defuse the first Semtex at the downtown Police Station, to the much thankful surprise of the authorities. After that however, the team got bogged down. Slade's cronies were all at the sites, waiting. Raven found herself facing at least a fifty of Slade's bots at the dam, while Starfire met an old friend at the power plant out of town.  
  
"Hello??" Starfire cried out into the enormous empty halls. "Is anyone there?" No sound came from the plant's interior warehouse except for a light beeping, which betrayed the location of the bomb to the Tamaranian. At least this was going to be easy, she thought.  
  
The question of whether she was alone however, was quickly settled as the ground trembled again. A portion of the floor collapsed into the earth, followed by a mechanical whir as the drills came to life.  
  
One of the worms that escaped from the last encounter made their appearance now. it shook the ground so much that it seemed as if the warehouse was threatening to collapse.  
  
Starfire immediately flew out of the way of the debris, and charging her starbolts saw that the worm had a gigantic dent in its head.  
  
Despite the dent, the Worm let loose a furious barrage of lasers, which forced Star to hide behind one of the broken generators in the room.  
"I think I had made it angry." She took the time to catch her breath, then when the firing stopped, she charged the worm head on, firing a barrage of energy as she flew. The room quickly became obscured in smoke and explosions.  
  
****  
  
"Azerath...metrion..zinthos!" Raven chanted, and immediately large rippling waves of black energy radiated from her energy barrier that she had made. Slade's robots fired incessantly at her, trying to penetrate the magical barrier. They did not however, anticipate the counter attack.  
  
The rippling black waves sliced through the robots within a flash. It happened so fast, that they still stood there even after the spell was cast, falling into pieces only a few seconds later. Multiple explosions rocked the damn in all directions.  
  
Raven took this time to rest herself against the wall, having exerted a tremendous amount of energy in that last attack. It seemed quiet...for now.  
  
Her communicator went on. "What's the progress team?" Robin called in.  
  
"Dam's clear, I'm helping Beast Boy with the Industrial sector." Raven called in.  
  
"Can you call back in a minute or two? I'm a little busy right now." Cyborg's voice was fuzzy through the communicator, muffled by several explosions and laser fire in the background.  
  
"Raven, I think you should cover Cyborg, I've got this sector covered." Beast Boy reported in. "I found three of the do-hickys, things are pretty quiet here."  
  
Raven consented. "All right, take care."  
  
"Starfire? How about you?" Robin continued on the communicator.  
  
"I am in, what is the word? A bit of a Jam." Star's replied in a somewhat nervous voice. Raven could barely hear anything through the Static.  
  
"Cyborg, think you can handle yourself for a few minutes?" Raven asked.  
  
"No problem Rave, I can also nicely ask them to stop firing for a minutes longer." Cyborg replied sarcastically, but then he reflected on the seriousness of the situation. "Help Star first, I'll be fine."  
  
Robin stood at the top of a towering skyscraper, overlooking the entire downtown area. Things seemed quiet so far here, too quiet. He had managed to defuse 3 bombs so far. With some fighting between him and Slade's robots. "Alright, I think that leaves 13 left, I think this sector is pretty much clear, I'll be right over Cy.  
  
"Will do Robin."  
  
Suddenly the red light began beeping on Robin's belt, and he detached a small electronic device and began inspecting it. This was not good, he had designed his alarm to be in synchronization with the alarm at the City's Maximum security prison. Someone had escaped.  
  
"Whats going on Robin?" Cyborg inquired through the communicator.  
  
"More trouble." Robin did not like what was happening, he listened intently to the communication network in the prison, to find more information about what was happening.  
  
"It's Overload." Robin confirmed. "He's escaped."  
  
"Slade's really running us around in circles isn't he?" Cyborg commented, slightly annoyed.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll handle it, just take care of the bombs!" Robin shouted, then jumped off the skyscraper, latching onto another nearby building before proceeding to jump to the room of a smaller nearby office tower.  
  
"Watch yourself Robin. We don't know what tricks Slade is up to." Raven added one last word of caution before signing off.  
  
Robin felt frustrated. Events were going on too fast for him to comprehend. Had Slade done this so that he could free overload? And if so, why? Or was it all just a coincidence?  
  
He barely had time to continue on however, for his communicator went off again. Robin picked it up, expecting Starfire or Raven reporting in, but what he saw was the last thing he ever wanted to see at this time.  
  
"Hello Robin, and where do you think you're going?" Slade asked in his usual insulting and suave voice that sometimes drove Robin nuts.  
  
"It's none of your business." Robin replied angrily as he watched Slade give an amused look on the screen.  
  
"My. My Robin, you should really learn to control your Temper. This doesn't have to do with the Prison break does it? Rest assured Robin, I have that covered." He gave a mocking smile now, as if taunting robin with the fact that he was winning in this little game of deception.  
  
"So you were behind it." Robin, in the danger of sounding completely ignorant, replied with his usual air of hostility towards the masked villain.  
  
Slade continued on talking in his usual sophisticated tone. "Did I surprise you that much?" Slade gave a slight cackle. "In any case, that is the least of your concern. You should feel honored Robin, for I am giving you a very special task, a task only you can perform." The screen on Robin's communicator blanked out, showing static for a split second before switching to a new scene. It was a dark picture, and Robin could barely make out the rocks and stalactites, which dominated the background. It was a picture of a cave.  
  
What caught Robin's eye however, was the large cylindrical shaped machine which dominated the landscape. The machine was covered in electrical buttons, each one flashing wildly as if it was processing something, it reminded Robin of a supercomputer.  
  
"It is called 'the Juggernaut', my most magnificent creation to date."  
  
"That's....." Robin began.  
  
Slade quickly cut him off. "Yes Robin, a Thermal Detonator, or in more simpler terms, my naïve apprentice, a fusion bomb. Once detonated Robin, it will create a particle field that will engulf the volcanic fault line my apprentice created under the city, releasing enough energy and heat to disintegrate anything caught in the blast." His description was rich and it was obvious to Robin that he was enjoying this quite a bit.  
  
"The result Robin? The largest volcanic eruption in history, which will bury your city in ash and fire, followed by a proverbial nuclear winter. It will be, as they say, a magnificent symphony of Frost and Flame." The villiain gave a chiding grin as he finished.  
  
"Not if I can help it slade." Robin gritted his teeth now, another test? What the heck is this guy planning?  
  
"Oh really now robin? Normally it can be defused, but not without special training. A pity though, if you had stayed my apprentice a little longer, you would have had the adequate knowledge to stop such a complex device."  
  
At this point, Robin was still thinking about where this bomb was located, but a swift reconnaissance of the landmarks in the screen had already shown him where this bomb was, and he could not help but think of what Beast boy said earlier.  
  
"What have you done with Terra?" Robin demanded fiercely, recognizing that Slade had placed this bomb inside the same cavern where they had last fought him a year ago.  
  
"Oh? I am glad to see that your powers of deduction haven't gotten sloppy." Slade gave an amused chuckle. "She is the least of your worries boy, but now that you know where my fusion bomb is, you might as well come and try to stop it."  
  
So that's why he split us up? Robin thought. To get me alone again? No....Slade's plans were usually more complicated, there must be a second reason. And, Terra...Slade better not have done anything to her.  
  
"You will find that defusing the juggernaut is impossible, but then again, you can't resist trying can't you?" Slade gave one last contemptuous smirk.  
  
"I shall enjoy watching you fail." The screen went blank.  
  
"Damnit Slade....what are you up to." There was so much going on at once, the Semtex, Overload escaping, not to mention a giant fusion bomb in the heart of the city... There was nothing however, he could do, except try his best. And so, Robin quickly made his way underground. To Terra's resting place.  
  
****  
  
The alarms were blaring all over the complex, accompanied by flashes from red sirens which dotted the facility. Masked Guards scrambled to their stations, grabbing assault rifles and prepping their gear, while officers gave explicit instructions to set up barricades to stop the intruder.  
  
"Sir! The intruder has broken past our first floor defenses, he's heading up here!"  
  
The commander impatiently snapped back. "Whatever happens we can't let him into the R&D sector, lock and load!"  
  
Twenty guards guarded the narrow hallway, throwing up a makeshift barricade of barrels and crates. Some took cover behind them, while others crouched down on the ground. All had their rifles pointed towards the end of the hallway, which had a door in the nearby corner, shaping the corridor as if it were an "L". The guards protected the longer stretch of the hallway, while the short corridor led to the door. They shifted in their positions uneasily as the first sounds came through.  
  
Men were shouting, rifles fired madly in the shorter corridor, the door had been opened. Already, men were appearing from the end of the hall, firing and stepping back, frantically trying to get away from whatever was attacking them.  
  
Five men were tossed against the wall as if they were rag dolls, their impact was preceded only by a large explosion when one of the commandos tried to grenade the thing, but he too, was disabled.  
  
"Get ready." The twenty guards readied their rifles, their fingers tensely resting on the triggers.  
  
"Here it comes!" One of the guards pointed, and immediately the twenty guards let loose a blazing barrage of bullets into what appeared to be a glowing mass of electricity.  
  
Overload was barely phased by the bullets and he quickly picked up a piece of electrical equipment, charged it and quickly tossed it at the bewildered soldiers. The generator exploded in mid air, temporarily blinding the dazed soldiers as well as throwing some on the ground from the impact of the blast.  
  
"This is too easy." Overload sneered, then he advanced towards the frightened soldiers with a deliberate slowness. The men fired wildly at the monster, but the bullets didn't affect the electrical beast in any way.  
One of the soldiers, out of ammo and in a sheer fit of desperation, unhooked the fire hose from an emergency station nearby and hoped to stem his advance with at least a highly pressured wall of water.  
  
The water however, was more effective than the soldier thought. Overload gave out a roar of pain and slowly shrank back into the electrical wires of the building, quickly disappearing through the circuitry while leaving the shocked soldiers alone, and victorious.  
  
"The intruder has been stopped sir." The soldier reported in to HQ.  
  
Headquarters however, was no so optimistic. "Search the grounds, Project Alpha has been stolen!"  
  
"Impossible! We guarded the only way in! That thing couldn't have done it!" The captain, in amazement, opened the tripled layered steel doors to find that the prized capsule was missing. The project was kept inside a glass case, surrounded by laser grids as well as a weight sensitive alarm floor. No one could have broken in without setting one of those off!  
  
Yet it was apparent to the captain that somehow had stolen it, for a small clean hole in the glass was seen a hole through which the capsule could have fit through easily.  
  
The Buildings chief of security was even more confused, and determined to get to the bottom of it, he quickly went up to the central computer room.  
  
"Security, check surveillance in sector B, from the last 20 minutes." Which was the time of overload's attack.  
  
The technician typed away on his keyboard, and had accessed the files within minutes. Playing the tape, the two officers observed the room, which was perfectly untouched in the attack, the capsule was still in its casing, undisturbed.  
  
"There sir! We found our thief." The technician reported as he zoomed the camera in. It was all so obvious now, the commander thought. The floor alarm wasn't set off because the perpetrator had flown, but what had really puzzled him was the appearance of this so called thief.  
  
"Its......a hummingbird?" The commander said incredulously.  
  
****  
  
The base was dark and bleak. Dominating the control room were dozens of large screens, each showing different locations in the city. What really added to this cold and oppressive atmosphere however, were the numerous gears and machines which operated in the background. Occasional vents of steam and the rotating sound of clogs and gears filled the room.  
  
Slade smiled as he sat in his chair, it pleased him to know that he had his enemy outfoxed, that he was conducting the entire operation as smoothly as a conductor controlling every motion in his orchestra.  
  
He laughed contently, knowing everything was going according to plan. The screen immediately in front of him showed flashes of blueprints, as well as schematics of an unknown nature.  
  
He was interrupted with the entrance of a third party in the chamber.  
  
"I see that you have already completed the first task. Overload is free, and no one is the wiser." Slade watched the screen now, supervising his own robots deactivating the bombs in the Industrial sector that Robin assigned to Beast Boy.  
  
"And the Capsule?" Slade asked slyly. The only response he had was a slight flicker in the air as Beast boy angrily threw the capsule onto the floor, at Slade's feet.  
  
"Good boy," Slade spoke with a casual air of superiority resembling the tone of master towards his dog. "You are already proving yourself as resourceful as Robin and Terra ever were."  
  
"This won't last forever." Beast Boy said with hostility, ignoring the compliment.  
  
"Nor do I intend it to. As I have told Robin, I have other plans besides acquiring new apprentices."  
  
"And you will release Terra?" Beast Boy demanded.  
  
"Very soon. Yes." Slade leaned back in his chair, out of the light. "A deal's a deal."  
  
Beast boy was ashamed, he couldn't believe that he was doing this. Yet, he felt he had no choice. He knew Slade had Terra now, and what would happen to her, was entirely up to him and that was why he came to the conclusion that he had no choice but to run errands for this man.  
  
Slade smiled, turned his back from Beast boy to his monitor and reviewed the schematics he had been concentrating on earlier.  
  
"Project Alpha, and Project Omega." Slade droned on with an intriguing tone.  
  
"Parallel strains of military research projects begun by Lexcorp. Designed to create the most powerful weapon ever known to mankind." He turned around in his chair, staring coldly at Beast Boy. "And you will be the one to hand them to me."  
  
"I've already done enough." Beast boy finally had summed up the courage to say it. "Free Terra now!"  
  
"Remember my friend, you will find you have little choice in the matter. Terra is in my hands now, despite what your friends say. Her future, is entirely in your hands. I trust you won't disappoint me." The last phrase was as cold as steel, and Beast boy was trying his hardest to restrain himself, from jumping up there right now and ripping the villain in half. But, he was doing it for Terra. _My friends...forgive me_  
  
"Now, don't you have to help your little friends?" Slade said chidingly, pointing to the screen which displayed the many other semtex bombs still out there. "The hour countdown is almost up."  
  
"You'll regret ever doing this to my friends." Beast boy uttered out in suppressed rage.  
  
"Oh? Don't give me all the credit, after all. You have played a part in all this as well, haven't you?"  
  
Beast boy did not say a word, instead, he ran off, taking his communicator and seeing whether or not Starfire still needed help. Robin was on the communicator now, telling them something about a new bomb under the city. He had no time to waste...  
  
Slade meanwhile, could only give a mocking laugh as the titan left.  
  
"Bite little fish....Bite." he said softly as he watched Beast boy fly off to help his friends.  
  
He could only hope that, in time, they would forgive him for what he had done.


	4. Countdown

(part 2) Countdown  
  
The warehouse was completely destroyed now. The once empty room was now a clutter of rubble and smoking craters. The fight was nearing its end.  
  
Starfire grunted with pain as she tried to lift the steel beams that were trapping her ankle on the ground. She had been unlucky, trying to maneuver in a place so small, and now she was going to lose.  
  
The mechanical worm took its time, sadistically slithering around Starfire, as if it were constricting her like a python. Star almost wanted to scream as she saw the worm towering above her, cutting off all exits with its constricting coil body. It looked down on her now, with its charging red eyes. Was this the end?  
  
The worm charged its laser, preparing to fire, then for some unknown reason, it looked somewhere else.  
  
One of the Generators in the room detached itself from the wall, and was hurled towards the worm. A large explosion ripped through the mechanical beast, and it quickly uncoiled itself and submerged into the ground, temporarily stunned.  
  
"Are you ok?" Raven asked as she flew into the room, using her telekinesis to lift the steel beams off of Starfire.  
  
"I am undamaged, thank you Raven."  
  
"Where's the detonator?" Raven immediately inquired Starfire.  
  
"Over there," Starfire pointed to one of the generators, which had a large cylindrical bomb attached to it, filling the plant with an ominious beeping sound. "I could not stop it."  
  
The worm, which had recovered from the last attack, fully resurfaced now, just feet away from the two Titans. It opened its jaws in an intimidating roar.  
  
"Don't worry." Raven "I got an idea." She focused now, levitating the detonator with her powers. The bomb floated magically in the air now, surrounded by a glowing aura of black magic. Raven turned to the worm now, which charged the two girls furiously, as if it was going to devour them.  
  
"It's coming at us!" Starfire shouted.  
  
Raven replied smugly. "No problem." She waved her hand in a fluid arcing motion now, sending the bomb flying straight at the robot. The semtex easily flew through the worm's mouth, making a clanking sound as it bounced deep within the insides of its stomach. The worm paused for a moment, seeing if it had taken any damage. When nothing happened, it resumed its attack.  
  
Raven smirked now, then quickly close her hands into a fist.  
  
The worm began expanding now, as if it were a blow up balloon. The semtex had detonated, causing a ripple of explosions throughout its body. Each explosion came closer and closer to the worm's head, bloating it up even more until...  
  
The monster exploded, sending shards of metal and circuitry flying all over the complex. Although the bomb was powerful enough to level the factory, Raven had gambled on the fact that the Worm's armour was enough to contain the explosion, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the remains of the worm fell lifeless to the floor.  
  
Starfire gave a cheer. "Yay! We have kicked the butt!"  
  
"Let's go help Cyborg, there's not a moment to lose." Raven said dryly, and Starfire consenting in agreement, flew off with her friend to find the others. There was only half an hour left before the final bombs would explode. She hoped that they were make it in time, but more importantly, she hoped that each of her friends were safe...  
  
****  
  
The Bridge was deserted, the civilians having already fled some time ago, leaving a maze of abandoned cars and discarded items on the Bridge. It was one great sea of wreckage.  
  
More Robots came now, jumping on cars and climbing the foundations of the Bridge. There were perhaps a hundred of them, and they all converged on one point by the suspension towers, where a series of explosions rocked the darkening sky.  
  
The chase had gone on for over four hours now, and as the clock ticked down to the last ten minutes, the battles had intensified. The team had managed to get all but two bombs now, two bombs that were planted at the foundations of the towers, one per tower.  
  
Cyborg was exhausted now, having fought for the last 4 hours without let-up. It seemed as if for every robot he destroyed, twenty more took their place.  
  
"YAAH!" Cyborg screamed as he advanced, charging up his plasma cannon right before punching a hole through one of the larger robots. The droid remained stationary, stuck to cyborg's arm, and Cy immediately turned around to avoid the torrent of laser fire that came from the masked robots, who fired from atop the cars and buildings.  
  
The droid's larger body blocked many of the shots, but it exploded, throwing cyborg onto the ground. More robots converged on him  
  
Cyborg, not giving up, stood and immediately charged his cannon.  
  
"Come on! Show me what ya got!" He shouted in defiance.  
  
His plasma cannon went offline, drained of power from the fight.  
  
An astonished Cyborg took one look at his cannon, then at the crowd of robots who were charging their lasers. A nervous smile went across his face as he started sweating bullets.  
  
"Uh, perhaps we can call it a day? It's late and I'm missing my favourite- AHH!"  
  
The robots opened fire, throwing cyborg off the edge of the Bridge. However luckily for cyborg not all of his functions were offline, he quickly shot his grappling arm onto the bridge, grabbing a hold of the edge. He sprung to a complete stop, dangling just feet away from the water.  
  
He barely had time to breath a sigh of relief before one of the robots aimed at him from atop the bridge. He couldn't dodge this one, it was over.  
  
A defiant roar was heard above the bridge, and Cyborg saw more explosions on the bridge. Just as he was about to hoist himself up though, a gigantic tail swept alongside the edge of the bridge, and what followed was a rain of robots and parts of robots as dozens of Slade's cronies took the dark plunge into in the sea. Each robot made a small splash and then sank. Their circuits fried by the water, they slowly sank into the depths, disappearing beneath the waves.  
  
It wasn't appropriate, but Cyborg couldn't resist picturing Aqualad surfacing out of the water and telling them to stop putting trash in his ocean. Too bad it he didn't show up though, he would have been of great help.  
  
"Cyborg! Yo Dude! Need some help?" It was Beast Boy's voice  
  
_"What ever made you think that beast boy?" _Cyborg replied in a heavily sarcastic voice. "Perhaps I like holding on for dear life several hundred feet above a freezing stormy sea."  
  
Beast Boy gave a satisfying grin and quickly changed into a gorilla, using his massive arms to pull Cyborg up on the tower.  
  
"Wait! Hold right there B!" Cyborg shouted as he ascended almost halfway up.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I think I found it, just give me a few minutes and I'll disarm it!"  
  
At this point, on top of the Bridge, Raven and Starfire made their appearance.  
  
"Beastboy! I am glad you are not hurt."  
  
"No," Beast boy replied. "But man! Some one tell Cyborg to lighten up on those burritos!" He grunted with strain as he held the cable.  
  
"I heard that!" Cyborg replied from a hundred feet below. Which brought a nervous chuckle to Beast Boy's face.  
  
"In any case, where is the other bomb." Raven asked.  
  
Beast Boy pointed to the other tower. "Over there Rave, we got things covered here, just go and stop that one."  
  
"Consider it gone." Raven replied, flying off to the tower.  
  
"Star. Is there something wrong? You seemed worried?" Beast boy asked as he saw that Starfire still remained on the bridge.  
  
"Yes my friend," Starfire looked up at the green titan with much concern on her face. "Where is Robin?"  
  
Cyborg's voice shouted from below, he had secured himself onto the Bridge. "Go find Robin guys! I got it under control here!"  
  
"The other bomb is disarmed, Cyborg, are you sure you won't need my help?" Raven replied as she landed next to Star.  
  
"No. This bomb is different from the rest, it'll just take time, anyways, go look for Robin! I'll be fine."  
  
The three titans looked at each other, gave a nod, and then vanished into the night, leaving Cyborg to work on the bridge.  
  
****  
  
He had found the old entrance, already making the hundred meter descent below the surface to locate his target. He did not want to stop, not even to tell the team where he was going, they would be able to scan for his tracker device anyway.  
  
It was like going in blind, Robin found himself feeling the rocks around him, making leaps of faith as he jumped from one dark obscured boulder to another. Praying that his feet would touch solid ground.  
  
He made it to the old abandoned base within a few minutes, saw the two gigantic steel doors that Beast Boy had torn down in their last visit here.  
  
The chambered was bathed in an unholy light, a light reddish colour that seemed to emanate from the screened windows around the room.  
  
_How could Slade even work in a place like this, its just...too creepy._  
  
What caught his attention however, was the large mechanism that stood on top of the mountain in the center of the room. And robin immediately sprinted up the walkways to the top. He dislodged some rocks, and the chambered eerily echoed in activity as they bounced into the darkness below.  
  
The bomb was making a series of bleeps and computerized sounds, as if it were processing something. Each bleep brought about a pattern of lights as each button went on and off at different intervals. This certainly did not look easy.  
  
Robin's first instinct was to use his Bo staff to pry open what appeared to be a control box on the side, but before he could, that distinct voice made its way into the passageway...  
  
He turned around, and saw the taunting masked figure walking slowly towards him, hands calmly clasped behind his back.  
  
"So Robin, alone at last...."  
  
****  
  
Robin turned around swiftly, using his cape to obscure the barrage of birdarangs he threw at Slade. A flash of light appeared in the cavern as the birdarangs went through Slade, causing sparks as they both ricocheted on a nearby boulder, one of them neatly buried within the rock.  
  
"No..." Robin replied with horror, remember the scene that had troubled him for so many months. It was as if he could hear it in the cavern now, the seething rain, the murderous thunder, the dark apparitions he saw in the corner of his eyes.  
  
"Oh yes. Robin," Slade's voice boomed from another corner of the cave now, right beside him.  
  
Robin reacted instantly, taking out his bo Staff and lunging it at the apparition. His bo staff made a loud 'clank' as it hit nothing but the metallic surface of the detonator.  
  
"What is wrong Robin? Frightened of a little voice?" Slade's voice echoed uneasily through the chamber.  
  
_Calm down_. Robin thought. He was breathing heavily now. Trying to logically sort the facts in his mind. There was no way...this could be happening.  
  
"Where are you Slade?" He shouted into the darkness.  
  
"Where I have always been. Right here, by your side." He appeared out of the dark now, stepping beside the machine that eerily lit the room in a darkened red. He couldn't make out the mask in the darkness, but the silhouette was unmistakable. Was he.... No, that's not possible. There must have been a logical explanation for all this, why would Slade be here, of all places....  
  
Then it hit him. It was all clear now.  
  
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack me?" Slade's cold calculating voice was contemptuous to the brim.  
  
"No." Robin said calmly as he spoke up. "Because you aren't real."  
  
He waved his hand across Slade now, saw his image fuzzed up as he waved through nothing but thin air.  
  
"That's right Robin, a holographic projection. I did say I would enjoy watching you fail didn't I? I will also enjoy mocking you one last time."  
  
"Mock all you want Slade. I've got a job to do." Robin walked through the holographic image, kneeling down to inspect the wires and control panels that he had pried open.  
  
"You will find that quite impossible Robin, this is no normal detonator. Notice...how, there is no countdown?"  
  
He was right, this was different from the other bombs, but if time did not detonate it, what will? Was it a trick? Did he purposely install some sort of multi-layered mechanism that would detonate if anyone tried to disarm it? He was frustrated, not only because he couldn't leave the bomb where it was, but because of Slade's taunting voice droning on into his ear.  
  
"It is hopeless Robin. You were never good enough to defeat me. What makes you think you can win this time?"  
  
"Shut up, Slade." Robin replied furiously.  
  
"Or perhaps it is a dud?" Slade offered helpfully. "Then again, you can never take the chance can you?"  
  
Robin was sweating now, straining under the pressure. He rearranged some wires here, disabled some safeblocks there, but the bomb was still beeping. All the while Slade's voice was beside him, never leaving his mind. How would Slade detonate this bomb? How? Why would he go through the trouble of planting twenty five other bombs to weaken the city, If this one could destroy the entire city in one full blast.  
  
"Robin!" A voice boomed from behind.  
  
"I said be quiet Slade!" Robin shouted angrily, only to look into the face of a much horrified Starfire.  
  
"I'm... sorry star, I thought you were... Him."  
  
"Dude," Beast boy said. "There is no one in here but us."  
  
"Yea, yea, I get the point. Now about this detonator, there's something about it that bothers me." Robin's thoughts cleared up now, thankful to be among his friends as well as away from that troubling voice that haunted his mind.  
  
"There's no countdown mechanism?" Raven inquired, lifting her hood to get a better inspection of the equipment.  
  
"None, I think it may be set off by something...maybe a trigger."  
  
"I found the other bombs Robin, but there's something weird about them as well." Raven commented.  
  
"What?" The boy wonder asked curiously.  
  
"They weren't consistent. I found one of the top of a skyscraper, while another was planted underneath the doorstep of the hospital. Dangerous as they were, they would not have brought down the building's structural integrity."  
  
"What are you planning Slade..." Robin stroked his chin, this was the most puzzling thing yet, but he found it even harder to think now.  
  
"Robin! Watch out!" Starfire called out a warning.  
  
Raven and Robin lifted their heads now, and saw the ominous dark figure standing next to them, he grinned, as if he had been there the whole time.  
  
"A good question indeed Robin, but I suppose I can give you a little hint." Slade began.  
  
Raven began charging her powers, until Robin pushed her back. "He's a hologram."  
  
"Indeed, now ask yourself this Titans. What is the best way to ensure that a bomb goes off without a hitch?." His mask, although fake, still made grim reflection as he walked into the light. His amused face quickly gave way to an intimidating look as he gave the answer.  
  
"A mechanism that never fails."  
  
Then he vanished.  
  
A mechanism that never fails? What? A trap? A flawless program, or a certain criteria...  
  
Then it dawned on him. He cursed himself for being so stupid all this time. Robin immediately picked up the communicator, for he knew what the mechanism was.  
  
"Cyborg are you there?" Robin shouted urgently.  
  
"Just a second Robin, I almost...got this last bomb. Ah. There!" Cyborg cried in triumph.  
  
An unusual silence filled the cave now. Then, suddenly the lights on the twenty ton detonator began bleeping more violently now...  
  
"Dude, What's going on?" Beast boy asked.  
  
Robin was frustrated, and hit the side of the machine in anger. He looked up at his team now, shaking his head.  
  
"I think the real countdown, has just begun."


	5. A Long Lost Friend

The bomb had not exploded. Well not in the way Robin had thought it would. Everyone braced for the blast, Raven had thought about containing the bomb within one of her force fields but she didn't act fast enough, while Beast boy just stood there silently, staring blankly at the now empty rock where Terra had stood. What had Slade done?

"We are...alive?" Starfire asked incredulously.

"Another one of Slade's duds." Raven, sensing that the danger had passed, lifting her hood up to get a clear breath of the air.

"No, look." Robin pointed at the cylindrical bomb now, which opened up like a cocoon, exposing to the team a large tangle of electrical wires, computer consoles, but most importantly, a counter that ran down the seconds as the bomb ticked away.

"It's...just a normal detonator." Raven commented. "Easy to disable."

"Yea, but we've still got five minutes before it explodes." Robin wasted no time, bolting for the thermal device when suddenly the ground started trembling...

"No...this can't be..." Beast Boy watched in amazement as a tidal wave of dirt rose above Robin, threatening to envelope him until Raven casted a spell that cut it in half. It disintegrated harmlessly into dust. The eyes of the group were now focused onto a new figure in the room.

"Terra!" Beast Boy shouted with joy upon seeing his long lost friend. She looked as beautiful and innocent as she ever did, her blond hair radiated even in this dark chamber. As she walked out of the darkness into the light, it was apparent that she still had Slade's techno-suit on, but what bothered Beast Boy most was her blue eyes. Beast Boy saw that there was something wrong with her eyes.

They were lifeless, without emotion or feeling. Just a cold, blank stare.

"Beast Boy! Look out!" Raven cried out.

Beast boy barely snapped out of his day dream, just in time to avoid several large rock spikes that were sent hurling in their direction. The entire cavern was shaking now, as Terra took every boulder, sharp rock and stalactite and levitated them menacingly in front of the titans. Terra had instinctively protected the bomb now, encasing it in a rock cocoon, brimming with spikes.

"Terra! It's us! You're friends. Speak to me!" Beast Boy shouted

An evil taunting laugh filled the chamber now, and the titans readied themselves uneasily as Slade made his reappearance, next to Terra.

Slade began checking the small computer on his arm. "Perfect...The neural suit is still functional, and now...only four minutes left until detonation."

"What have you done to her!" Robin demanded quickly.

"Nothing different Robin, You see, I have learned a valuable lesson from my former apprentice. And that is. To keep them on a very short leash." He said calmly, although each word was as icy as steel.

"You're sick Slade, and I'm not going to rest until I stop you." Robin took out his bo staff.

"Idle threats boy, nothing more. Did you really think you are in a position to threaten me now?" Slade said slyly as he faded into the shadows. "Now that you are all in one place, how about some catching up? I am sure my apprentice is all too eager to get reacquainted with you." He gave a nod towards Terra, before stepping back into the shadows.

"Slade! Stop!" Robin reached out in anger. "Come back!"

"I should be the least of your worries now. Goodbye Robin." Slade was gone.

"What has become of our friend?" Starfire asked.

"So far, I'm not sensing anything in her mind. It's as if she's just another one of Slade's robots."

"It's the suit. Has to be, we got to bring her down and get it off her." Robin suggested, he went into a fighting stance now, low profile, bo staff in one hand, while the other secretly reached for a pack of explosive bird-a-rangs.

Terra did not change her expression, but instead let out a huge yell. Every part of the cavern cracked apart now, splitting apart at the seams. The cavern began lighting up now, as rays of pure yellow light filtered through the cracks. It seemed as though Terra's power had gotten considerably stronger since they last met.

The rumblings of the earth were met with a new sound, a monstrous roar as the rock began taking a form of its own. Giant man-shaped figures made out of rock, earth and concrete began popping out of the walls and ceiling. All in all, there were about five of them. Terra meanwhile, just stood right where she was, overlooking the whole scene with a cold expression.

"Titans! Go!" Robin cried out. Starfire, Raven and Robin began splitting multiple directions. Starfire immediately began by firing star bolts at the Granite men who stood upside down on the ceiling. They were quick, submerging into the rock before the bolts made contact.  
An arm reached out of the walls, pinning Raven down, while another set of arms began the slow process of choking her. Raven coughed in pain as the earth slowly engulfed her face.

Robin however, was faster, throwing two explosive bird-a-rangs at the hands, blowing one of them apart while the other withdrew back into the walls.

Raven was dropped, and she coughed out one last time before fully recovering. She looked to her surroundings. Robin was using his bow staff to knock the stuffing out of one of the earth monsters, with little effect. The monster simply absorbed his bo staff through its stomach. Starfire was taking on two of the monsters at the same time.

Star's eyes began glowing green, and she let loose a powerful blast which sliced one of the Earthmen in half, but it was in vain, he simply pulled himself back together.

Beast Boy just stood there, watched in shock as he saw Terra fighting his friends. He didn't know what to do, he couldn't bring himself to move...._ What Have I done...._

"Beast Boy!" Raven shouted, using all her powers to restrain one of the monsters as it tried to pummel the green titan. The rock monster was blanketed by a screen of black as Raven tried her best to pull the rock man out of the ground. It was a difficult task, but eventually, with much strain, she lifted the Earthman into the air, throwing him at Terra. Terra simply created a wall of spikes in front of her, earth spouted out as quickly as water would in a fountain, protecting her from any harm.

Raven ignored that, instead landing next to beast boy.

"I know this must be difficult. But if you want to help her, then help us bring her down."

"Yea..but..this isn't like last time." Beast Boy said with a sincere tone. "It isn't her fault this time..."

"Regardless, she's dangerous, and if we don't stop her soon, then she'll end up hurting all of us, and herself." Raven pointed to the detonator, still ticking away precariously during the fight.

Beast Boy gave a grudging nod and immediately transformed into a T rex, attracting the attentions of three of the monsters in the room. One was immediately sent flying with a huge tail whip, shattering into a million pieces after it hit the wall. The other two attacked more discreetly. With lighting quick speed, they immediately disappeared underground and began coiling Beast Boy's T-rex form. One of them wrapped itself around his legs, creating a shackle of rock and concrete, while the other began the process of tying him down to the ground. The earth beneath Beast Boy's feet began liquefying into quicksand.

She was trying to drown him.

Raven wasted no time, floating up to the platform where Terra was standing, she prepared herself for her next attack.

"This time, You aren't the only one with new tricks." She said as her eyes began radiating a black flame.

"Necronom Hesperith Mortix!"

A black cloud began enveloping the room now, as more dark rays began emitting from Raven's eyes. Each of the rock men were bound into the black glowing mist unable to move.

Beast Boy transformed into a bat, escaping while his three assailants were engulfed in a sea of black flame. Rock began collapsing throughout the chamber as the black mist destroyed whatever it touched. Raven however, had thought of this and had already surrounded Robin, Starfire, Beastboy as well as the detonator in protective black energy bubbles, safe from harm while the rest of the cavern was being torn apart.

Terra, far from looking scared, summoned up another torrent of energy. A bright yellow glow filled the cavern on all sides now and soon collided with the black energy from Raven.

The entire cave vanished in a flash of light, and soon all of Terra's rock monstrosities were gone, dissolved into a million pieces. The cave ceiling shook violently, letting loose a few grains of rock and rubble, but otherwise, it seemed stable enough.

Raven was exhausted from the spell, and she landed gently onto the ground next to the rest of the titans who prepared for their next attack. She knelt on the floor now, still recovering from that vast exertion of energy.

Terra, un-phased, detached a platform from the rock she was standing on, and began walking towards Raven.

Beast Boy stood protectively in front of the exhausted magician however, and shouted. "Terra, don't make me do this."

She detached a spike from the ceiling now, and aimed it precariously towards the two titans.

"Robin! The detonator!" Starfire cried. "Do not worry, I shall help Beast Boy." There must be less than two minutes left in that thing.

"Got it!" Robin picked up his bo staff from the ground, pressing a hidden button to make it charge electricity. The staff began glowing as bolts of electricity jumped from one end to the other. If there was a fast way to stop a simple detonator, it was to short-circuit it out.  
Robin sprinted as fast as he could to the detonator, saw the last seconds count down.

Terra however, had anticipated this move, and the rock around the walkway began sprouting out spikes. Robin jumped, using his bo staff to pole vault out of the way.   
_  
Almost there..... just a few more feet....  
_  
More rock forms came out of the ground. This time arms popped up, holding Robin's feet while two others held back his arms.

Robin grunted under the strain, the arms were too strong, and his feet scrapped violently against the floor as he tried to run. _Move damnit! Move!_ You can do this. The counter was in the last thirty seconds...

"Terra..." Beast Boy called softly this time, the young girl however, did not pause in her advance, and the spike levitated uneasily beside her.

"Its not use, attack Beast Boy. She can't hear you." Raven spoke weakly.

"no.... I can't.." Beast boy replied back.

"Do not worry, I shall be of assistance." Starfire immediately blew up the spike which Terra was levitating, but it was no use, she quickly remolded the rock into dozens of smaller spikes, sending them flying towards Beast boy and Raven at an alarming speed. There was no time to dodge it....

A plasma cannon erupted from behind Terra, sending shocks throughout her body. The girl gave a loud scream as electricity shot through the suit and through her body. With a soft groan, she fell down, unconscious.

Robin, released from his rock shackles, quickly threw the bo staff like a javelin, piercing the detonator's main computer and sending waves of electrical energy through it, frying the circuits. The countdown stopped at five seconds.

"Did someone call for the Cavalry?" Cyborg grinned as he retracted his sonic cannon back into his arm.

Beast Boy knelt beside Terra now, holding her up as she lay unconscious on the floor. "Terra...is she?"

"She'll be fine B. Don't worry." Cyborg said reassuringly. "I just sent an electrical surge through the suit, it took most of it."

Robin, jumping down from the detonator, gave a sigh of relief that he was able to stop the bomb on time.

"Alright then, lets go back home and see what we can do for Terra."

And so they left. Unknown to them, a dark figure watched the entire battle the whole time. Satisfied at least, with the battle, he disappeared into the shadows without ushering a sound....

They were back at the tower, all of them gathering around their old friend in the emergency ward. Terra had been out for a few hours now, and although there was no danger of her being seriously hurt, her heart rate and blood pressure were still closely monitored by Cyborg. Removing the neural suit was a long and arduous procedure, and they did not want to take any chances with their friend's health. Plugs and other medical equipment were strapped onto her, to keep an eye on her vital stats. While an oxygen mask was placed on her mouth. Terra was breathing weakly.

"I finally removed it." Cyborg commented, pointing to Terra's armour, which was lying on the table next to the door. Terra was lying still now, wearing her old blue shorts and grey T shirt that she wore when they first met her. Beast Boy noticed that they hadn't put on her old uniform, and as the doubts began clouding his head, he pushed them back, he was more concerned now about her health.

"Will she...be ok?" Starfire asked with concern.

"She's just recovering from all that time she's spent encased in stone. Needless to say, she barely has any strength left, especially after the battle Slade put her through. She just needs rest." Cyborg gave his diagnosis reassuringly.

Just then, right when Robin was about to say something, Terra groaned weakly, and underneath the mask she began uttering something.

"Terra!" Beast Boy ran to her side now, clasping her hand as she opened her eyes for the first time.

"Ugh....My head." She spoke weakly now, apparently still drained of much of her energy.

"Terra! I.... we're...you're back!" Beast boy was at a loss for words. He wanted to hug her now. Hug her so hard that he would never even think of letting go. Not now, not ever. It had been so long...almost a year, and now... she was back. He closed his eyes, trying hard to hold back the tears, the tears of joy, the joy of being reunited with the one person he cared the most about. He began wiping tears from his eyes.

"Welcome back Terra." Robin said with his usual cool authoritative tone, although he was glad she was alright. Raven gave a slight smiling nod towards the her, while Cyborg was less indiscreet.

"BOOYAH! Thats my My favourite little rock and roller!" Cyborg cheered jubilantly.

Starfire, not to be outdone, was next in line. "My friend! We shall celebrate with a feasting of Glork!"

"Don't worry Terra, you're safe now, we're right here, and we'll look after you. I'll look after you until you feel better." Beast Boy replied gently.

Terra groaned again, rubbing her head as if she had a splitting headache. She looked around now, stared at the rest of the team with an unfamiliar glance, as if she was trying to focus on her surroundings.

Then Beast Boy's world fell apart, and the rest of the Titans fell silent as Terra began to speak.

"Who......is Terra?" She asked weakly, then stared blankly at Beast boy, his eyes wide open in shock.

"And who .......are you?"


	6. To Forgive and Forget

**Episode 3: To Forgive and Forget**

Unnatural flashes of electricity echoed through the chamber, combined with the roaring screams, which intensified with the flashes of light. The room was bathed in red light, which silhouetted a series of gears against the walls. Overlooking all this from above, was a dark figure, who watched his latest plan unfold below.

Overload was hooked up to a machine, which continually pumped a reddish electrical energy into him, and with each passing minute, Overload seemed to roar even more in pain. Slade merely smiled.

No pain, no gain.

The process took several minutes, and ended with Overload standing below the Masked Villain, smoke rising from the machinery as well as the surrounding area. A lot of power had been used in the process.

"Well overload, how do you like the upgrade?" Slade began casually, not moving from his spot above the growing monster.

"Now, I have a special task for you." He threw one of his communicators to the electrical beast, which quickly attached itself to his chest, making an ominous beeping sound to signify that overload was now totally under his control. Slade gave Overload a nod, and the monster, wasting no time, quickly disappeared within the circuitry of the base, making his way to the surface...The wires cackling violently with electricity as Overload passed through them.

"And me?" A mysterious voice appeared in the dark corner of the room. "When do I get my part of the bargain?"

"Later my friend, much later. As long as you agree to the terms." Slade replied sinisterly. "Unless, Of course, you wish to be known for the rest of your life as a second rate upstart."

"A deal's a deal.... Partner." The mysterious and shadowy figure said calmly. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and displayed a casual flair that seemed to suggest he couldn't are less about the plan.

"Good...then wait, you're time will come." Slade said reassuringly into the shadows. The figure smirking, left him alone to his schemes, content with the fact that he would come out with his winnings in this deal. Slade however, merely laughed softly. He stood there, watching his latest surveillance devices that were monitoring Titan Tower.

"All my pawns are in place, the pieces are in motion...now...it is only a matter of time."

_(Insert Theme Song )_

When there's trouble you know who to call  
Teen Titans!  
From their tower, they can see it all  
Teen Titans!

When there's evil on the attack  
You can rest knowing they got your back  
'Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol  
Teen Titans GO!

With their superpowers they unite  
Teen Titans!  
Never met a villain that they liked  
Teen Titans!

They've got the bad guys on the run  
They never stop 'till the job gets done  
'Cuz when the world is losin' all control  
Teen Titans GO!

1.. 2.. 3.. 4....  
Teen Titans!  


Beast boy's eyes widened in shock and Terra gave Beast boy a puzzled look. He took a step back now, shocked at what he had just heard. _No....no. this can't be right._

"Terra, it's us! You know, your friends. The Teen Titans!" Cyborg began with concern.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I know what a Teen Titan is." Terra replied almost ignorantly, giving a useless shrug.

"Terra...that's you're name." Beast Boy began weakly, trying hard not to choke on every word he ushered. "Can't you remember me? Its me, Beast Boy. Remember? Your friend...."

"I guess Terra is my name....." She replied with a slight shyness. "But I have never met you before...."

"But....But..." Beast Boy went on inadequately, but stopped as he saw the genuine look on Terra's face. He paused now, staring sadly into her eyes, and quietly left the room without ushering a word. Raven, noticing the pain in Beast Boy's eyes, followed him out as well.

"Was it something I said?" Terra asked in a slightly confused tone.

"Terra...We need to talk." Then Robin explained.

"What is this....Amnesia?" Starfire asked innocently as Robin began telling his story. Terra listened intently, sitting uneasily on the bed while she heard the story of who she was, when she got here, and her part in the team.

"It is when you lose some, or all of your memory Star." Robin explained helpfully. Then turned to Terra. "What do you remember?"

"I...don't know okay." Terra began with some frustration. "First there was this blinding light....then I heard voices, that was when I woke up. I can't remember anything before..."

"Do not worry my friend! We will help regain your memory!" Starfire began optimistically.

"It is not an easy task....Sometimes recovering memory can take some time, even years, and it is usually a painful journey." Cyborg replied.

"I...am not sure what to make of it...what you have told me so far..." Terra said slowly, she was straining herself to remember, but all she got was a blank. "I wish I can remember though."

"We will help you my friend. Remember, you are home!"

She sighed. "Home? But I have no place to go. I can't even remember who I am."

"Your home is here Terra!" Starfire said with the genuine concern of a friend. "Come, I shall show you to your room!" And the Tamaranian quickly led the dazed and confused Terra out of the medical room, helpfully giving her a tour

"Do you think we should tell her?" Cyborg whispered to Robin.

"No." Robin said firmly. "There are some things that she must discover on her own. And what she does at that point, well, we can only pray and watch." He was stroking his chin now, deep in thought. This was all very suspicious, how Slade had not made his reappearance after the cave, and if Terra was free, surely he would try to get her again? Or did he have another plan?

"We got to keep a close eye on her." Robin began.

"You don't think-"Cyborg replied surprisingly.

Robin waved Cyborg's reply off. "I don't know Cyborg, I don't know."

Beast Boy did not look back, and quickly ran to his room, locking the door shut behind him while burying himself in his messy bed. He did not cry, although he felt as if he had a torrent of tears to release. His eyes watered, and he brushed away the tears as he sat back up, catching his breath and looked at the pictures on his desk.

It seemed like an eternity ago. That night, at the carnival, where he thought he was the luckiest guy in the world, something special had happened that night. Until it all came crashing down on him. And now, he felt his hopes crushed again. _Why does this happen to me?_

A knock came from the door. "Beast Boy?" it was Raven's voice.

With a sigh, he let the picture drop on his desk, but he refused to open the door. Instead he buried his face in his pillows. She was right there, in right of him, staring into his eyes, but...it felt as if she was a million miles away, as if she was dead inside, the person he knew was dead....

He lifted the pillows from his face now, and saw Raven.  
"I thought I locked the door." He said quietly.

"You did, but locks can be replaced, I just want to talk." Raven began, ignoring the smoking burnt out lock panel on Beast Boy's door. She sat down on the bed beside him.

"Beast Boy, I know this must be hard for you."

"What do you know!" He replied in anger, not anger at Raven, but anger at all the frustrations. How they had come so close to reviving their friend, only to let Slade get to her first, his frustration at how even though she was alive, she was not the same person, may not even be again. _And it was all his fault..._

What have I done?

He stopped, saw the look on Raven's face and dropped his head down in shame.

"I'm...sorry."

"No." Raven said comfortingly. "No. I understand, considering how me and her...." She didn't dare continue. What could she say? Almost killed each other? Forgiving that incident was about as easy as forgetting it. 

"No really, I'm sorry." Beast boy wiped the last tear from his eye, then began again after a slight pause.

"I want to help her. I just... didn't know what to say back there."

"I know Beast Boy, We will find a way."

"Raven you can read minds right? Maybe you can help her remember." Beast Boy offered helpfully, his old enthusiasm coming back in his voice.

"My telekinetic powers aren't fully developed, I can read minds but I can't just open them like a box. I might hurt her. Its too risky. I think its best for her to find out herself."

Beast boy nodded grudgingly in consent. "I guess...but...its just so frustrating."

"I know." Raven replied.

"We'll find a way...." Beast Boy continued on... "We'll find a way."

Terra was in her room now, curiously examining the items within, as well as brooding over her dilemma. Starfire, her friend safe, returned to the lower levels to watch Robin work on another one of his gadgets. This time it was a giant canister shaped device, resembling a bomb of some sorts. Robin was using a blowtorch to wield the metal together, diligently working under the extreme heat and into the dead of night.

"Robin...what is the purpose of this...apparatus?" Starfire asked curiously.

"Slade is back, it's best that we prepare for every possibility." Robin explained, not even turning his attention away from his work.

"Should we not be finding a way to restore Terra's memory?" Starfire inquired helpfully.

"Cyborg and Raven are handling that, besides, I have a feeling that Slade is up to his old tricks." Robin grunted as he twisted the last piece of metal into place. He began typing on the computer now, monitoring the different locations in the city, where Slade could possibly strike.

"What do you mean Robin?"

"Its just...too much of a coincidence-"He stopped, knowing the gravity of the situation he was implying.

"I...am sure that Slade has something planned Robin, but whatever it is, he will not succeed." 

"No. And I'm going to make sure of it. I'm the only one who knows what he wants, how he thinks." He propped his head on his arm now, elbow on the table. Robin stared into the screen with the obsessive fervor that was so common with him and his encounters with Slade.

Starfire, genuinely worried, placed both her hands on Robin's shoulders.

"Just remember Robin, that we are a team, and that we do these things together. It is unnecessary for one person to bear the burden of the work."

"I know Star. Thanks." He replied, the face still planted on the screen.

"Please Robin. Get some rest. If not for yourself, then for your friends. For me."

He looked up from the screen now, saw Starfire flying worriedly out of the control room. "Don't worry Star, I will." He said as she disappeared upstairs.

Terra said silently in her room. A thunderstorm was brewing that night, and the occasional pitter patter of raindrops on her window did nothing to ease the mind numbing pain she was feeling as she contemplated all that had happened that day.

She looked around the room again, scanning every detail for even a slight memory. The wallpaper was depicted the silhouettes of orange mountains, which probably had something to do with her interests she guess. What really caught her attention was the starlit ceiling that seemed to glitter brilliantly no matter how dark it got. _Did my friends really do that for me? They must have been good friends..._

A knock on the door echoed, and Terra, awakened from her daydream, jumped back in shock.

"Who is there?"

"It's me." A familiar voice rang out.

Terra was uncertain what she was supposed to do, but a part of her told her to answer the door, to see the person on the other side.

She opened the door, to see the face of the first person she saw when she opened her eyes. "Uh...hi?"

"Hey Terra." He replied with a sad tone, and she quickly felt a sting of sympathy for the person. "Can I come in?"

Terra gave a blank surprised stare, but quickly nodded. "You are...that boy who ran out of the room." Then when she saw his reaction to her words, she quickly reddened, feeling some sadness herself. "I'm....sorry."

"No, it's not your fault Terra... I'm Beast Boy."

A chord was struck in her mind. Beast Boy? She began thinking back now, trying to remember, as if a new doorway had been opened in her mind, but she could remember nothing, save for the image of a broken Ferris wheel, and dark shards of glass...

"Terra?" Beast Boy asked.

"Oh....I'm fine." She quickly recovered herself, sitting on the bed and resumed what she was trying to do all day, to remember. She picked up a comb from the bed, her comb, and stared blankly at it, hoping that something would just go in her mind. But nothing happened, and Terra sadly continued her search for answers.

"I'm...sorry I ran out like that, it must have confused you even more." Beast boy began, sitting next to her on the bed.

"Oh...it was no problem." She looked at Beast Boy now, saw the strain and fatigue on his face, she didn't know why but this was obviously quite taxing on him. "If...I'm bothering you, I can leave." Terra offered sincerely, she never wanted to make anyone feel bad, and watching him look so sad whenever she was in the room made her quite uncomfortable and guilty.

"No, you don't have to!" Beast Boy replied quickly. "Its...actually me who should be saying sorry. It's probably my fault anyway."

"Starfire told me about you." Terra began. "And how we were good friends. Is this true?"

Beast Boy gave a nod. "Yes, it is."

"I just wish that I could remember." Terra said genuinely. It was frustrating for her. All these people were being so nice to her, and she didn't do anything. She was so used to...being an outcast.

"You'll remember, I'm sure. Besides, you are a very brave person, to even just try something like this." Beast Boy said wholeheartedly, then bowed his head sadly. "It's a very painful thing."

She motioned her hand and quickly propped Beast Boy's head up, so that he was looking in her eyes. "No." She began. "I am afraid, there was never a time I wasn't, but I just want to know more about them....about you. I want to remember."

She gave a sad look now, and felt her eyes water. "Besides I am used to it, not knowing where I am or where I'm going."

Beast Boy wiped a tear from her eye, and he looked at her with sympathy in his own eyes. "I thought you said you didn't remember."

"No." She wiped her eyes. "Although I can't remember anything right now, I still know what happened to me in my earlier life. The truth is Beast Boy, that I've been lost my whole life. I didn't know where I was going, or what I wanted to do. Everywhere I go, every place I visited, I try to help out, to give some meaning to my life, but....I just end up doing more harm than good." She began crying now, and Beast Boy noticed that she was leaning on his shoulder. "Everything I touch...everything I do... it just goes all wrong, and I wish I knew why. Why me?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "That's not true Terra, you've done good things, better than you know. If it wasn't for you, this city would not be here today."

"Really? Or are you just lying to make me feel better?" She said emotionally.

"It's the truth, even if you don't remember everything Terra, you should at least know that you were a hero, that you did the right thing. And you were a good friend."

"I wish I could remember, I truly do." Terra said with tears in her eyes, still leaning on Beast Boy's shoulder. "I really do...."  
Beast Boy did not know what to do, but he now realized that she was hugging him now, and he hugged her back with everything he had.

"Don't worry Terra. You'll get better soon, I'll make sure of it. It's a promise."

Beast Boy walked uneasily into the lounge the next morning, a mountain of frustration boiling in his brain. He still remembered that dark deal he had with Slade...was that worth it? To bring her back at the expense of her memory? Her life? He still felt guilty, and wondered if he should tell the team what he had done. Then again, Slade said there was a third task.....

"So, how is she?" Cyborg asked dutifully as he passed out Breakfast. All Tofu waffles. Usually Beast Boy would be jumping at them, but today, he poked at them inadequately with his fork, barely eating anything.

"She's fine, but...I feel so helpless. I just wish I could do something, anything to help."

"There are some things she must remember on her own Beast Boy, you know that." Raven replied while floating mid air in meditation.

"Yea but...if only we could do it faster." Beast Boy replied.

"Recovery can take awhile, but rest assured my friend, she will be better." Starfire said with her usually sympathy.

Before Robin could add anything however, the alarm blared off again. And the team watched uneasily as Cyborg went to the computer and traced the alarm to its source.

"It's the Prison, looks like Slade is trying to free Cinderblock and Plasmus again." Cyborg commented.

"Slade..." was Robin's first reply.

"Yea, but this time it's Overload. Just Overload."

"Alright Titans, we've got no time to waste!" Robin ordered.

"What about Terra? We can just leave her here." Beast Boy replied.

"She will be safe, with Cy's security, besides, its too risky to have her out-"Robin stopped, and Beast Boy gave him a suspicious glare, but Robin simply shrugged it off.

"Anyway it doesn't matter, what's important is that we stop Overload. Come on, let's move out!"


	7. Overload : Reloaded

The Prison designed for overload, cinderblock and Plasmus was a high security grid located just a mile offshore from Jump City's regular maximum security prison. When Cinderblock and Plasmus were first taken down by the Titans, the Prison's warden suspected he would need a new cell block just to put those beasts in.

Thus the _Ternion block_ was constructed. Seen from afar, it resembled a fortress that jutted from the rocks. Surrounded on all sides by water and jagged rocks, the prison sat above a rock buttress, which was connected to the city prison by a narrow highway strip.

The highway strip was awfully busy now, as dozens of guards rushed to the bottleneck at the Bridge, each one armed with powered laser rifles. Alarms were blaring in the background, while police cruisers and armoured cars swerved into the scene, creating a roadblock behind which the soldiers took cover, dozens of rifles leveled over the barricade, all eyes were peering towards the direction of the mainland, where a series of explosions rocked the bridge.

Overload wasted no time; grabbing a police car, he threw it at the barricade. The soldiers jumped out of the way as the car collided with an armoured truck, sending both vehicles over the edge into the sharp jagged rocks below, the resulting explosion shook the Bridge even more.

"Fire! Fire!" one of the soldiers yelled, and immediately they all trained their rifles on the beast and began shooting with everything they had. The rifle fire was harmlessly absorbed into overload however, and Overload simply sent out a wave of electrical energy streaming toward the guards. Weapons short-circuited, car engines exploded, and the soldiers, now unarmed, began running away in terror.

With that nuisance out of the way, Overload proceeded to the facility's central control room. Frying those computers would release every criminal holed up in the prison, or more specifically, Plasmus and Overload.

Just as Overload reached for the main gate's locking mechanism however, a cluster of bombs exploded on Overload's back, each one sent him reeling forward in pain until he hit the Prison's metal gates.

"Time to shut you down for good Overload." Robin was behind him now, along with the rest of the Titans, who prepared for the attack. Beast Boy immediately transformed into a T-rex and automatically charged at the Electrical monster.

Overload simply stretched his way out, letting Beast Boy pass harmlessly between his legs and into the prison's security gate.

"That's gonna leave a mark." Beast boy said dazedly as he felt his head spinning under the rubble. He looked up and saw that Overload was preparing to attack.

More explosions erupted from behind Overload, and the monster backed away from the increasing onslaught brought on by Starfire and Cyborg. Overload, backing away at first, simply shot his arms out in a gigantic beam of energy and grabbed the two titans.

"Overload will fry biologicals." Overload roared in his monotonous voice, as he streamed electricity through his arms to engulf the two titans. Starfire's hair was all frizzy from the static and Cyborg began mumbling something incoherently as his circuits were being jolted.

"Let them go!" Robin shouted, then he threw three exploding birdarangs at Overload's chip. The monster quickly dropped the two titans, using his arms to shield himself from the blast. Robin took out his bo staff and attacked now, hoping to hit Overload's chip, but Overload was faster, and one good gigantic arm swipe sent the boy wonder flying across the road, hitting Raven in the process.

With the Titans temporarily down, Overload went back to the Prison door, where a slightly annoyed Beast Boy stood. This was taking far too long.

"Get out of Overload's way foolish biological."

Beast Boy gave a defiant reply. "Oh yea! Well if you think we're gonna let you be Plasderblock or ....or....Cinderplasload or whatever again, you've got another thing coming!"

"Overload does not compute, Overload will destroy." He began charging up again, and both his arms merged into one gigantic electric pulse, aimed straight for Beast Boy.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" A black shroud began clouding over him now, encasing his power inside a type of force field. Overload grunted as he made his way towards one of the prison gates.

"Hey sparks!" Cyborg shouted, carrying a water hose from one of the nearby hydrants. "Choke on this!" He released the valve.  
Raven's force field dropped and Overload was now continually pounded with a steady stream of water.

"Good work Cyborg." Robin said as he and Star quickly rushed to his side, along with Beast Boy and Raven.

Overload growled with pain as he backed away from the hose, but there was something odd. He wasn't shrinking.

The growl quickly turned to a laugh as Overload began expanding more than ever, he sent a shockwave of electricity through the water, which caused the hydrant and hose to explode, sparks were flying everywhere. The shockwave sent the Titans reeling back onto the ground, with Cyborg getting yet another huge shock. The titans, and a smoking Cyborg, watched with surprise as Overload grew even more, approaching the titans in slow deliberate steps.

"Overload feels no pain. Now prepare for deletion." 

Terra wandered the halls of the Tower quietly. Although she was still exploring the place, she wondered why everyone had left, so soon, and without a word. Was she unwanted?

A room down the hall was unlocked, well not that it could be locked, for the mechanism on the door was blown open. There was something eerie about that room, and upon deciding to investigate, she approached it curiously. The door was like all the others in the building, high tech, mechanical, and automatic, but that was about all that was similar between this room and the others.

She peered in, and saw...

A pig sty.

Clothes, Cds, Comic books, A Dreamstation, and toys littered the floor, while the wall was covered with posters depicting the latest Mega Monkey movie. Chips, pop and magazines from who knows when were all over the bed, and all the drawers were opened, full to the brim with clothes that dangled out from the sides.

Although she didn't know why, Terra deduced that this was Beast Boy's room.

She went to the bunk bed now, and recoiled in horror when she saw the huge jagged claw marks on the walls. But after summoning some courage, she began looking on the desk.

The desk was as messy as the rest of the room, with reminder notes for Raven's birthday, orders of Pepperoni Pizza going back...at least 8 months, a T communicator, as well as a stack of old photos.

The photos contained all of Beast Boy's good times, there was a picture of him playing football with Cyborg in the park. Another showed him being hit by a ball of what appears to be unwashed socks, while an entire album was titled 'breakfast explosions' and recorded all the times Cyborg and Beast Boy dragged an unwilling Raven into a food fest.

Then Terra saw something she did not expect, and she reached over to lift the object up.

It was a heart, or more precisely, a heart shaped box, and it was placed right next to the bed, almost as if Beast Boy opened it every time he woke up. She carefully opened the lid now, and saw her own reflection in a cleverly crafted mirror.

She shook her head now, swearing that some image had just flashed in her head. She put the box down, and took out the photos that lay within.

She stared at it in shock, a look of realization dawning on her face as the clouds began lifting in her mind.

Terra was still unsure what all this meant, but she was determined to do something. She grabbed the communicator off the desk now, hoping that some vague memory would help her remember how to use it, and she quickly ran out the room.

The door slammed shut, and the photo of Terra hugging Beast Boy quietly fell to the floor.


	8. You've Always had a Choice

The battle had proceeded farther from the prison now, much to the surprise of the Titans. Instead of heading towards the cellblocks containing Cinderblock and Plasmus, Overload conducted a massive offensive, forcing the Titans back to the mainland with huge bolts of electricity as well as the occasional toss of the armoured car.

The prison was a smoking now, a result of Overload's previous rampage, and the guards were having their hands full with the escaping convicts. It was up to the Titans to stop this monster themselves.

"Raven! We need to move to a better location!" Robin yelled as he threw three explosives discs at Overload, which he quickly absorbed and shot back at Robin with an equally destructive force, narrowly missing him. The resulting explosion knocked another police car from the bridge, sending it to the icy depths.

"Already on it." Raven replied, her eyes glowing with her dark black chakra. She raised her hands as she began to focus her powers, concentrating hard in her mind.

The ground immediately below Overload began turning black now, and the patch grew, radiating until it surrounded all the titans and the monster.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!"

The black chakra curled into the air now, and completely shrouded the fight. Seen from afar, the black magical energies resembled a ball, a ball that quickly molded itself into the shape of a raven and flew off into the distance.

The guards at the prison watched with relief as the monster seemingly disappeared into the sky with the titans, and soon began rounding up prisoners again within the smoky ruins.

They landed in the forest.

With a loud less-than-gracious thump, the entire team touched ground along with Overload, and the fight resumed. They must have moved at least ten miles inland, to the edge of a forest that separated the city from the mountain range beyond. Huge cliffs dominated the battlefield, although the scenery was the last thing on their minds.

"Overload will destroy!" He gave a cackling roar, ripping a gigantic tree from the ground and preparing to toss it at the Titans.

"Let's see how you handle a sonic boom! Robin!" Cyborg gave the cue, and immediately both of them began running towards the towering Overload. Between Overload was a huge tree and a rocky cliff, just enough space for this next move.

Overload threw the tree now, and it hit nothing but dirt as Cyborg and Robin quickly peeled off in opposite directions, with Cyborg's cannon warming up as he ran. Running quickly, Robin quickly ran up the tree, doing an acrobatic somersault while Cyborg jumped off the walls. All this happened so fast that by the time Overload demolished the tree and shot the wall, the two titans were already above his head.

"Chew on this!" Cyborg fired, and Robin threw a hand full of explosive discs into the creature. Overload shrank from the enormous blow of the Sonic cannon, and the explosions from Robin's discs flattened the monster even more, as if he was being crushed into the ground.

"Have we succeeded?" Starfire asked curiously, floating above a puzzled beast boy and Raven. The smoke still obscured much.

They got their answer when Robin and Cyborg were thrown out of the smoke, followed by huge waves of electricity.

Beast boy immediately turned into a mole and dug underground while Raven and Starfire let loose a barrage of starbolts and black magic to hold the wall of electricity at bay. The impending collision of powers resulted in a gigantic explosion that sent both titans flying into the trees. Overload still stood amidst the smoke.

"Man, is it just me, or did this guy get tougher." Cyborg groaned, feeling his aching head.

"A lot tougher, Slade must have something to do with this." Robin, ignoring the pain, already had his next gadget out, a gigantic spherical bomb. The same one he used to take out Slade's army of Robots the last time he fought the villain.

Overload however was quicker, and using his control over electronics, the device was quickly pulled out of Robin's hands and levitated ominously in the air. The bomb opened up now, and the familiar sounds of electronics signified that the bomb was now activated.

"Take cover!" Robin cried out, jumping to a dazed starfire and pinning her to the safety of the ground, Cyborg did the same, hiding behind a large boulder, dragging an unconscious Raven to safety.

The resulting blast was so powerful that it ripped trees from their roots, disintegrating the Rock that the team hit behind, as well as creating a gigantic crater within the ground.

The team lay on the ground helpless now, too injured and dazed by the blast to immediately do anything. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

"Time for annihilation. Overload will annihilate!" Overload said sinisterly, then began raising his arms and charging up an energy ball to finally destroy the temporarily helpless titans.

Except that a T-rex ran right into the monster, plowing him into the nearby rocks at the cliff. This released a torrent of boulders, which began raining down on Overload.

Beast Boy transformed back into his human form. "Dude, you can at least stop with the whole third person thing, it's getting on my nerves."

"Overload always refers to himself in third person! Prepare to be destroyed!" He assailed Beast boy now with an onslaught of electric blasts now. Each shot was seamlessly dodged as Beast Boy transformed into a Cheetah, then into an eagle, and into a mouse. Explosions racked the mountain as Overload became more frustrated in the elusiveness of his target.

"Good work Beast Boy! Titans Go!" Robin regained his senses now, and the four titans now let loose their own barrage onto Overload. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon again, while Robin threw his explosive Bird-a-rangs. Raven and Starfire fired an endless stream of blasts.

Overload growled in frustration as the blasts forced him ever closer towards a rocky cul-de-sac, yet he did not turn his attention away from Beast Boy. He decided to finish this one off first. Overload's back exploded in a searing flash, causing the other Titans to fall back temporarily blinded..

"Now foolish biological. You will be crushed. You have nowhere to run. Overload will destroy!"

Yet Beast Boy attempted to run, swerving left and right, but each step he took, Overload sent a surge of electrical blasts to stop him in his tracks. Beast Boy backed away nervously as he saw that each blast had dug a clean neat smoking hole through the rock.

"Um yea...about that grammar thing, talk in third person all you want, I don't really mi-"

"Overload will annihilate!" The monster gave a louder, even more furious roar than before. He began glowing now, as if charging up for his next big attack...

"Beast Boy!" A new voice cried out now, and Beast Boy scanned the area, slightly confused. There was no one behind Overload, he then looked up and saw a gigantic boulder floating above the monster's head.

"Terra!" He cried out in surprise, yet deep down, he could not hide the fact that he was happy to see her.

"Hey Sparky! Up for a game of catch?" She gave a grunting shout now, and the huge boulder quickly dropped on Overload, flattening him into the ground.

Before Beast Boy could say anything however, the rock exploded and Overload began firing wildly into the sky, in some vain attempt to hit Terra.

"Hey! Don't think I'm out just yet." Beast Boy transformed into a T-rex again, and charged the monster with everything he had. Overload countered with his own charge, and the two gigantic beasts grunted with strain as each tried to overpower the other. Overload was steadily being pushed back now, throwing up trails of dust and dirt as Beast Boy pinned him against the wall.

"Is that...Terra?" Raven asked as the team emerged from the wood.

"Terra! My friend! She is helping us!" Starfire cried out in joy.

The team ran for Terra now, and saw that she was already closing her eyes, focusing on her next attack. The rocks above Overload and Beast Boy were starting to glow now, outlined in a bright yellow colour.

"Hold him there, Beast Boy. Almost got it!" She grunted under the strain, the strain of trying to control all those boulders at once. For some reason, it was becoming even harder and harder for her to control...

"Terra! Stop! It's too risky!" Robin cried out.

Terra was struggling now. She did not know what was going on. It was perfectly fine until a second ago. Her head was throbbing now, as if she could not concentrate anymore, what was going on? She let out a sharp cry of pain and quickly collapsed onto the ground. There was no more control, her head was clouded again and she could only hear one voice through the throbbing pain.

"Beast Boy! Look out!"

The entire cliff was unstable now, and soon fell down on both Overload and Beast Boy, hundreds of tons of solid rock tumbled down in abundance, as if it were hailing all of a sudden. It went so fast that even Raven could not stop it.

Overload gave a roar of pain as it became flattened once again under the rock. Beast Boy's t-rex immediately vanished beneath a cloud of dust and rubble.

"Terra! Come on! We have to get Beast Boy out." Raven said sternly as the team rushed past her, digging into the rock as fast as they could.

Terra however, just stood there, shaking. She looked at her hands, and saw that they were trembling. _What have I done..._. Memories flashed in her head now, memories of how she had destroyed her hometown when she was only a small child, how mobs of angry people forced her to leave wherever she went...that same angry voice that always seemed to haunt her whenever she tried to help, to do something good..._ Everything I touch goes wrong.._.

She didn't notice it, but she was crying, and for a moment there, she forgot about the team, about her history with the titans, even perhaps, about BeastBoy.

She ran away, deeper into the woods, hoping to get as far away from that incident as possible. It was something she had done for most of her life, running. And running away was the best thing she could think of doing at that moment, after realizing that she had seriously hurt her best friend...doing more harm than good...She could see it in them now, in Raven's voice, the hostility that they view towards her. Perhaps she was never welcomed...

She kept running now, and was already far away when the Titans began digging.

"We got to get him out of there." Raven said.

"Surely Beast boy will be able to protect himself." Starfire replied as she began blasting chunks of rock away with her powers.

"Yo! B! Can you hear me?" Cyborg shouted into the rubble as he began drilling.

Beast Boy, luckily, was unharmed, and the team grew relieved when they saw a green shrew jump out of the small spaces between the boulders. Beast Boy quickly transformed back.

"I'm alright." He said, slightly dazed. "Where's Terra?"

The team looked back now, and for the first time, they noticed that she was gone. "She's...gone?" Robin replied.

Beast Boy's face almost saddened now, as if Terra had abandoned them once again, but he quickly shook that off, it was a misunderstanding, had to be. "We got to get her back, there's no telling what will happen to her if Slade gets his hands on her again."

Robin nodded. "We'll fan out and search the city once we get Overload to jail." He pointed to the rubble of rocks, somewhere under there, Overload was still at large.

"I'll go first then," Beast Boy volunteered.

Robin nodded. "Don't forget your communicator Beast Boy, Here." Robin tossed an extra one to Beast Boy. "We'll catch up with you later."

Beast boy gave a nod, then transformed into a cheetah and disappeared into the woods.

"now...for Overload." Robin said, turning to the pile of rocks.

Overload was at the very bottom of the pile now, quietly blasting a hole through the mountain in order to make room for himself. He was planning on making the entire mountain of rock explode in the Titan's face, and remount his attack, when his communicator suddenly turned on. A cold calculating voice relayed a new message to the monster now.

"Excellent Work Overload, you have done well here. Now...proceed to phase two."

With a consenting growl, Overload condensed himself into a tiny ball of energy now, and began digging his way into the cliff and through the mountain on the other side. The battle, for now, was over.

They had split up, searching the city for hours in a vain attempt to find Terra. Once they had discovered that Overload escaped, Robin decided that it was wiser to look out for their friend first, in case Slade tried anything funny.

"Any luck Cyborg?" robin asked over his communicator, standing on one of the skyscrapers overlooking the city.

"Nope, nada. Checked the pier, the warehouses, the orphanages. Can't find a trace of her."

"Raven?"

"Industrial Sector's clear." Raven reported from the communicator.

"As are the city's bureaucratic and enlightening institutions." Starfire commented.

"Well keep searching, we can't let Slade get his hands on her again." Robin shut the communicator off. It was becoming a frustrating night. Not only did Overload escape, but Terra was missing again, and for all he knew she could be going to Slade... He shook his head. Could she?

No. He thought, and then instantly felt ashamed of himself. He can't think like that, not after what she had done to save them. But then again, he could never forget the last time they fought, how she had almost killed him, even after pleading with her to escape Slade's grasp. What if she really was working for that madman? And this was all a ruse?

Robin ignored the troubling thoughts in his head, and quickly deciding where to visit next, jumped onto the next rooftop in his search for Terra.

Beast Boy, unlike the other titans, had an idea of where he could find Terra, and that idea brought him to a place that brought back old memories. Some joyful, but others, painful.

The ferris wheel was gone now, buried within a deep crater that stretched for hundreds of meters below the surface. A momento of the close battle that he had last time when he became the first Titan, other than Robin, to take on Slade alone.

Aside from that, the carnival looked the same as it did before. Flags fluttered above abandoned tents, while the ominous creaking sound of rusted metal hung about the gates, which seemed to twitch as the wind blew the door open and shut. The rides remained as they were, except this time they were covered in cob webs, and rust.

He walked quietly, negotiating his way through the winding paths between the rides...until he heard a familiar sound.

"Terra?" He said softly, as he heard crying echo through the yard.

He found her now, huddling behind one of the counters in the ball toss booth. Only the choking of her tears interrupted her soft sobs.

"Terra?"

"Please...just leave me alone." Tears were streaming down her face. "Its probably best to stay away from me, I always seem to hurt people around me."

"Terra, no, look at me! I'm fine! Besides, you didn't mean it." Beast Boy offered helpfully, jumping over the counter and sitting next to her.

She stopped crying heavily now, taking the time to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"How did you know where to find me?" Terra asked softly.

Beast Boy gave a smile. "You told me about this place Terra, you said it was like a second home to you. Besides, you brought me here remember?" He stopped himself from repeating anything about Slade. The more she forgot about that mad man, the better.

Terra shook her head. "Truth be told, I still can't. I only came here because I felt like it... I ..still can't remember. I don't know what I should do." She said with gloom.

"Well...trusting us is a start Terra. Don't worry, we want to help, besides, they aren't mad at you for what happened back there." Beast boy replied sincerely.

"They aren't?"

"No Terra... we're your friends. You are one of the team. We've waited like almost forever for you to come back. We missed you. I missed you." He clasped her hands.

Terra gave a smile now, wiping the rest of her tears away.

"Thanks Beast Boy."

"Why did you run away so fast?" Beast Boy asked.

"Because...I was afraid that they would be angry with me. That has always been the situation with me..." Her face was saddened now, remembering all the horrible memories in the past. "I don't know Beast Boy, I just...always seem to be running."

"You're not running anymore..." Beast boy noted in a slightly joking tone.

"Yes, I don't know why, but whenever I am with you...I just feel...safe." Terra gave another soft smile, then leaned on a blushing Beast Boy's shoulder. Before he could reply however, that hated voice ushered from above them.

"How very touching."

The two titans immediately jumped up, and Beast Boy watched with horror and hatred as the menacing figure approached the booth. Although his face was obscured, Beast Boy by now knew all too well the familiar glint of that mask, even in the moonlight.

"Slade!" Beast Boy said with a renewed anger.

"I do hope I am not interrupting anything...am I Terra?" He gave her a casual glare.

"Who are you?" She asked in a horrified tone. Something about this man seemed hauntingly familiar, yet she could not place it.

"You don't remember me? Good...this will make things much easier." He approached Terra now.

"Run Terra run!" Beast Boy yelled, instinctively throwing himself between her and that madman.

"I believe she will find that quite impossible." He took a small cylindrical device from his from his belt now, and pressed one of the buttons on top of it.

The throbbing pain in Terra's head was back now, more intense than ever, and Terra let out a cry of pain as she quickly fell to the ground. "...Ugh.. my head. What's going on."

"Terra!" Beast Boy ran, catching her as she fell into his arms.

She fainted.

Beast Boy turned furiously to Slade. "What have you done to her!?" He demanded.

Slade gave an amused look. "Have you forgotten already Beast Boy? I _freed_ her" He gave a slight smirk.

"What have you done to her..." Beast boy repeated again in angry frustration, Slade had not answered the question. The more important question was...how? Didn't they already purge Slade's suit from her? How was he doing this?

"Are you trying to control her again Slade? Is that it?" He asked impatiently.

"I have already told you, I have no need of apprentices. I have learned now, that they are usually flawed, unable to meet the expectations of the master." He pressed another button on the switch now, and Terra began screaming even more in pain, flashes of electricity surrounding her body.

"Stop it!" Beast Boy shouted again.

Slade stopped, merely grinned again and continued. "Robin's psychological profile fit my expections quite nicely, it was however...his priorities that led him astray, which I can only attribute to an inadequate mentor."

Beast Boy was not even listening, instead he was planning secretly in his head how he would tear Slade's arm off and take the controller himself. The masked man continued, in his usual cold and calm voice.

"Your friend, Terra, on the other hand," He looked down with distain at the now immobilized girl. "had magnificent power, but sadly, lacked the will to use it. Emotion was her one downfall, and it was her emotion towards you and your pathetic that brought her down."

"You still haven't answered my question Slade....What did you do." Beast boy was gritting his teeth, clenching his fist. It was taking everything he had and more to stop him from attack now. The only thing that did stop him was the fear that Slade might have a secondary trap planned for him. Or worse...he might harm Terra.

Slade's eye gave a deathly glare, implying that Beast Boy was in no position to rush things. Then the masked villain gave a small chuckle, consenting to an explanation.

"You remembered how I freed your friend in the first place? Then again, you are the one titan not known for your smarts are you?"

Beast Boy's fists were shaking now...Slade had been planning this all along...He had been tricked.

"Nanodrones, you are aware, can take years to degenerate in the body, and can remain undetected for the time without the proper equipment. And they cannot be removed unless you have the technological know-how and the Nanobot program. I am sure your robotic friend knows this, and that is why you cannot save her without this." He dangled a vial full of blue liquid in front of BeastBoy, almost tauntingly.

"This may seem like liquid, but it is actually billions of nanodrones, the same type which is in your friend. With careful study and time, a vaccine can be made from this."

"Do I have to do another one of your stupid plots again."

"On the contrary." He shot a dark glare, throwing the vial down onto the ground where it was smashed into a million pieces, to the horror of Beast Boy.

Slade's tone was deathly serious. "I have been benevolent with your team long enough. Far too long. No, I expect you to do _nothing._ Nothing but to sit and watch helplessly as I destroy your team from the inside out, with Terra."

"She won't do such a thing!"

"Oh she will have little choice in the matter. My nanoprobes you see, have access to her mind, and thus can release her powers at my will."

"My friends will find a way to stop you." Beast boy shot back angrily.

"Just as they figured out a way to bring her back? I am sorry, but that is not going to happen. Don't bother relocating her either." He gave an amused smirk.

"And if I try?" Beast boy asked defiantly.

"Then I use her powers to bury your precious city, as she has done with many others. Didn't she tell you? Then again, I suppose you are not really her friend."

"You're a liar! Terra would never do such things!"

"She almost destroyed you, didn't she?" The masked man replied in a taunting voice.. "Don't bother telling your friends. I will know if you do."

A smirk went across Slade's face now, implying to Beastboy that his network around the titans was so airtight, that there was no way he could do anything without him knowing.

"You just wait Slade..., I'll find a way." Beast boy replied, after all, he was never the one to give up hope.

"Ah Time." Slade said with relish. "Time unfortunately for you, is running short. She will begin having nightmares now, each nightmare spawning a series of earthquakes that will shake the city to its core. With each passing night, her nightmares will intensify, as will the aftershocks from her lack of control. Take time if you want, but she will destroy your city, and your team, one way, or the other."

Beast Boy's anger turned into a deep felt guilt now...it was all his fault...if he wasn't so gullible to begin with...if he only trusted his team more...

He bowed his head now, ashamed at letting not only his team down, but Terra... He felt guilty now, guilty at the fact that she was once again imprisoned under this madman's control.

Slade continued again, droning on in his taunting, cold, calculating voice.

"I recall you telling my former apprentice about how she had a choice. Well now, here, ... you have a choice. You can either take your friend back to the Tower, where she will undoubtedly require some medical attention. However...with me controlling her powers, you will also be endangering your friends."

Beast Boy's was angry now, not only at Slade but at himself, he had been tricked.

"Or...you can leave her here...at my mercy. So the real question is, how much do you value your friend here, or your pathetic team? The choice is yours."

Beast Boy said nothing. There was nothing left to say. He was outmaneuvered, outfoxed .

"It is rather fitting isn't it." Slade gave a mocking laugh. "You, taking on the task that I had Terra do before. Destroy your team inside out."

"I'm not going to betray my friends." Beast boy replied with growing hostility.

"Oh but you have, you have. You have betrayed them the second you stepped through my doorstep, and now, you have betrayed them in ways you cannot even imagine." Slade was finished now, and he turned away, oblivious to the fact that Beast Boy changed into a bear, ready to strike.

Just as Beast Boy was about to charge however, Slade held up his hand, showing how he dangled his finger threateningly above the button on the switch. Beast Boy backed down, he had no choice.

"Expect my company soon, then we shall see how loyal your team mates _really _are. Especially once they find out your part in all of this. I shall be enjoying this."

He was gone now, and Beast Boy was left alone with Terra.

"Terra! Are you alright?" He knelt down now, propping her up. Terra was groaning with pain, but her eyes were not opening. And her hand...it felt cold.

Beast Boy's own hand was trembling now, and it took him some time to find his communicator. It also took all his strength to stem the flow of tears that threatened to cloud his eyes.

He turned it on, and Robin was already on there, waiting for Beast Boy to say something.

"Guys, I found Terra."

Robin radioed back immediately. "Alright then, bring her back to the Tower and I'll see what we can do."

**End of Ep 3**

**P.S **

**You can tell I really enjoy writing Slade :D Btw, thanks everyone for the feedback! And yea, im kinda writing excessively, but its because all my free time is this week and next week ill be very occupied with school. I don't want this story digging into my head everytime I try to concentrate ;) besides, I pre wrote chapters 1-5 before posting them :D that might explain why updates are so fast D Er yea, so if I don't finish it by the weekend, expect considerable slowdown in updates next week / **


	9. Titan Siege

**Episode 4: Titan Siege**

Terra was in a coma-like state, lying unconscious on the medical bed while Cyborg monitored her vital stats on the screen. The team had been observing her for hours now, worrying into the late hours of the night. Although the Titans took turns watching her in the room, Beast Boy never left her side.

"Beast Boy...what happened?" Raven asked with concern, the rest of the team watched over Terra silently.

"Slade got to her first." Beast Boy shook his head in shame. 't save her in time."

"You tried your best B. That is all that matters." Cyborg offered a friendly supporting hand on his shoulder. Robin and Starfire had just entered the room now.

"How is the condition of our friend?" Starfire asked sincerely, hands clasped.

"Her vitals are alright, although her heart rate and brainwaves are irregular. I don't know what's wrong with her."

Yet Beast Boy did, and it almost drove him crazy that he could not just tell Cy now, about the whole scheme Slade had planned, the whole Nanobot thing-a-bob that Slade had planned on using since the beginning...But then he remembered the threat. And stayed silent.

Suddenly the screen showing Terra's vital stats starting flickering, static increased and the familiar beep of the machine turned into an ominous fuzzy noise. The screen cleared up again, and the Titans watched with shock as Slade's face appeared on the screen.

"Good Evening Titans. I hope I'm not interrupting any....emotional moments here."

"Slade. We'll make you sorry you ever did this to Terra." Robin replied with fury.

Slade merely brushed it off. "Please....enough of your threats. You know as well as I do that they carry no weight." He replied with a rather bored tone.

"What is it this time Slade? More explosives? You never have anything Original do you?"

"Again with the hostility Robin. Hehe, but then again, I should expect nothing more from a failed apprentice. No. There won't be any explosives, nor will there be some gargantuan test like the last one. The previous task I had you do was to simply test your endurance, and now that I have seen the limit of that endurance, I am going to break it." He gripped his fist in front of the screen.

"What are you really planning?"

Slade gave and bemused look. "Why Robin...since you are so impatient I will tell you. You are aware of our last encounter, as you should be. Then you will also know this: I require a new place...to set up shop. And you should feel very honored Robin, because after endless hours of searching I have finally decided upon a location that will perfectly suit my needs." There was no need for further explanation.

"So...you weren't after us at all, just our base..."

"Almost correct Robin as usual, after all...you did destroy two of my previous ones, it is only fair that I....requisition yours. Permanently. Of course, If I can destroy your precious team in the process, then I will consider it a bonus...like killing two birds with one stone really."

"Do you really think you can do this without the city knowing?" Robin demanded of Slade.

"Of course not, which is why I had Overload provide a distraction." The titans watched in shock now, as the entire city, which a second ago was a sea of lights, vanished into a blanket of darkness. It was a blackout. Soon afterwards, a series of explosions flowed through the streets. Overload was on another rampage.

"That's why you freed overload from the start." Robin said bitterly.

"Oh don't give me all the credit, I must personally express my gratitude towards Beast Boy, he did after all, free Overload for me."

"You are a lying Clorbag. Beast boy would never do such things!"

"Why don't you ask him yourself little girl? In any case, I will leave it to you to settle this out yourselves, but remember, time is short, and for the remaining waking moments of your lives, I will neither stop, nor will I show mercy."

Slade's dark voice was then replaced by a more sophisticated, calm voice.

"I am sure you were looking forward to one of my erudite speeches about how my intricate plot or scheme would unfold, but I am going to have to disappoint you. This is a siege now, pure and simple. It took most of your strength just to complete the little task I had for you a few days ago. How long will you last then...when my army assails you every minute of every day, non-stop." He gave a small deep chuckle of satisfaction as he finished it off.

"Welcome Titans, to my Tower, to my domain. I shall be seeing you very shortly."

The screen went blank, and already explosions from all over the complex were heard. Slade's army had arrived.

_Cue Theme song ;)_

_When there's trouble you know who to call_

_Teen Titans!_

_From their tower, they can see it all_

_Teen Titans!_

_When there's evil on the attack_

_You can rest knowing they got your back_

_'Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol_

_Teen Titans GO!_

_With their superpowers they unite_

_Teen Titans!_

_Never met a villain that they liked_

_Teen Titans!_

_They've got the bad guys on the run_

_They never stop 'till the job gets done_

_'Cuz when the world is losin' all control_

_Teen Titans GO!_

_1.. 2.. 3.. 4...._

_Teen Titans!_

They came in a dark swarm, a gigantic army. There were hundreds of them, surfacing from the ocean and walking ominously towards the tower. Accompanying the humanoid Robots, were the heavy commando drones that Slade had used in the past. The only thing different now was that, there was more of them... a lot more.

"Look's like Slade's throwing everything he has at us." Cyborg commented, "I got to activate the security!" He then ran, hoping to make it to the control room in time.

"Beast Boy...." Raven said softly, holding her hand out in support.

"I'm sorry..." Beast Boy turned away now, standing above Terra with his head bowed down, his voice was full of gloom.

Another explosion rocked the building now, and Robin wasted no time.

"We got no time! Come on! We have to fight." Robin took out six birdarangs now, three in each hand, and ran out, Starfire followed.

"We could use your help Beast Boy." Raven said encouragingly.

Beast Boy didn't turn around, or even lift his head up. "Please...Just leave me alone."

The building shook again, and this time the distinct bursts of laser fire came echoing through the halls.

"Raven! Come on!" Robin shouted from across the halls. Raven consented, and quietly left Beast Boy alone with his thoughts.

Cyborg was the first at the control room, and in a hurried fashion he quickly pressed every button on the keyboards as he passed. Alarms blared now, signaling that the Tower was going into a security lockdown. Steel doors slammed shut, while outside the grounds, Cyborg's automated defense cannons began their own private duel with Slade's heavy artillery.

"How many of em are there?" Robin jumped into his command chair now, with Starfire and Raven not far behind. The computer screen turned on now, and video feeds from every location in the tower were shown on it.

"At least a thousand. So that leaves...several hundred for each of us." Cyborg said with an unenthusiastic tone.

"Any sign of Slade?" Robin asked in his usual determined voice.

Cyborg shook his head. "Nothing."

The room shook violently, and tiny trails of dust and rubble began falling through the cracks from the ceiling.

"Robin, there will be time for Slade later. For now, we must defend our home!" Starfire exclaimed in worriment.

"You're right Star," Robin gave an agreeing nod. "But we have to Split up."

Another explosion, this time from down the hall.

"They've overwhelmed my security!" Cyborg cried in disbelief, then quickly recovered his tone. "Ahem...we got bogies in the lounge, training area, and quarters."

"Ok. Cyborg you take the lounge, Raven, training area, Starfire, protect our quarters." Robin quickly shot out instructions.

"Don't let them get into my Room." Raven was charging now, preparing for the upcoming battle.

"And Beast Boy?" Starfire asked with concern.

"He'll be fine, right now, we got to stop Slade!" Robin replied.

"Booyah! Let's get this on!" Cyborg turned both his arms into cannons now, and the Titans began the battle of their lives.

The training area was dark. Slade's robot's must have cut the power to the lower levels...

Raven proceeded cautiously, her hands lighting up with her black magic while she scanned the gym. There were holes in the wall, big enough for tons of Robots to go into. But no sound.

"Come out come out wherever you are...." She said sternly as she wandered the empty Gym, scanning the silhouettes of the weight room equipment and workout area.

Silence. She powered down.

"Guess no one's here...."

The lights flickered on now, and Raven found herself surrounded on all sides by dozens of Slade's robots.

Raven however, calmly shrouded herself with a shield of black magic, concentrating on a spell as the Robots let loose a torrent of lasers at her. A swirling wind filled the chamber now, combined with a restless sound as Raven continued chanting in her spell. The room vanished in a bright light as Raven released a large wave of her powers. Robots were pushed back through the walls while others simply disintegrated in the blast.

"yup...no one."

Two more robots bursted through the walls now, this time they were the big ones, armed with heavy cannons on each arm. After a few seconds scanning through the smoke, they had a lock on Raven and soon blazed away wildly.

Raven flew away from the explosions, concentrating on two dumbbells that lay on the ground. The two dumbbells became shrouded in her dark chakra, and she sent them flying at the two robots. The Robots prepared to side step out of the way, but Raven had already anticipated it, she curled the steel bar around the two robots like some sort of metallic snake, constricting the two until they exploded from the pressure.

Another section of the wall exploded now, revealing another host of Robots.

"Sorry, this Gym is closed."

The walls around the robots glowed in black chakra now, and soon came slamming shut on the robots like a set of jaws, cutting the ones that were caught between in half. The Robots however, simply blasted that wall apart, and continued their rampage.

"This is not going to be easy." Raven said dryly, then chanted again, charging for her next attack. He eyes glowing white.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!"

The lounge was a disaster area. Robots ransacked the computer, hacked into the monitoring system, as well as checking the kitchen and entertainment area for any useful items.

Cyborg entered the room now, and froze as he saw hundreds of robots pause in their activities, all staring at him. One of the Robots was inspecting the fridge, another held up a copy of Beast Boy's Mega Monkey's Four.

"Yo give that back! I still have to beat Beast Boy's score on that!"

The Robots threw their items away now, including Cyborg's Dreamstation, which shattered into a million pieces as they hit the ground.

"Oh That's it! Now you've crossed the line!" Cyborg replied angrily, converting BOTH his arms into cannons. "BOOYAH!" he charged.

The Robots were unprepared for this onslaught, the room lit up in bright beams of blue as Cyborg shot every Robot he passed. Some fell with huge smoking holes in their stomachs, others with no heads.

"Exit, stage left." Cyborg said casually as he punched one Robot in the stomach, his sonic cannon sending the Robot flying through the wall, out the window, until it exploded in a brilliant flash out light outside the tower. Afterwards he quickly saturated the robots in the kitchen with steady blast from his plasma cannon. Although some dodged his blasts, the majority were quickly dismembered in the beams. A series of explosions across the lounge followed, and triumphant Cyborg stood amongst a mountain of smoking robot bodies.

Another door exploded, revealing a new horde of Robots, which quickly converged on Cyborg.

He retracted his cannon arms now, and gave his knuckles a good crack. The Slade bots cautiously surrounded him.

Cyborg only grinned. "Time to get back to basics."

"That is Raven's Room! You can't go in!" Starfire shouted in anger as she blew back a group of Robots with a huge starbolt.

The Robots on the top floors had split into small groups, numbering perhaps ten to twenty, and they each ran in opposite directions. One group tried to pin Star down, but she quickly destroyed them with her laser eyes.

Another group of robots emerged from the rooms, opening a door into the main hall where Starfire was floating.

"You have entered Cyborg's room, I shall avenge it!" She charged her hands now, and fired a gigantic wave of lasers at them. The Robots, absorbing the full blast of her starbolts, quickly flew back into the Room. A gigantic explosion followed afterwards.

Starfire blushed red now, realizing what she had just done.

Another wall exploded now, this time from Beast Boy's room. The heavy duty androids appearing out of the smoke. Through the smoke, Star could make out the destroyed bed, the horrible mess that was on Beast Boy's floor.

"Beast Boy's room...how dare you make it more....umm."

The Androids gave no answer, and instead trained their laser eyes towards the young Tamaranian and fired.

Starfire fell back onto the floor with a grunt, but quickly flew at the Robots, swinging low and punching a whole through one of it's legs. The second android attempted to attack, but was quickly caught off guard as starfire flew straight through it, eyes blazing. Leaving a neat little hole in its chest. The machine exploded shortly afterwards.

A new sound appeared from another Room now, and the familiar squirming cries from her pet brought new alarm to Starfire's face.

"Silkie?" She entered her room now. The curtains were gone, along with the wall. The furniture in the room was a smoking ruin. While the fridge in her room was ripped open, and the all too familiar trail of purple gunk was all over the room.

"Silkie!" She cried again, and she immediately received a reply as a gigantic burp came from the ceiling. Starfire recoiled back in shock as the dismembered parts of one of Slade's robots fell from the vent.

"You are fine! My friend!" Starfire held out her outstretched arms toward the vent, and in mere seconds, Silkie came through, only this time he was bigger, much bigger. The giant larva landed on her with a happy thud.

"Silkie, how did you get so big..." Starfire gave her pet a big hug, and then saw the purple jar that was smashed to pieces below the fridge. "Oh. The zorka berries! Well ok, I will let you eat them this once. But now you must help me fight these mean robots."

Silkie gave a giant cute smile, and licked Starfire's hair. "Haha ok silkie, now remember, play nice and don't make a mess in the rooms!"

The worm gave an affirmative slurpy nod and quickly burrowed through the wall into the next room, where its next meal awaited. More explosions came from the room, and soon, pieces of robots began flying through the wall into Starfire's bedroom, each covered in slimy purple gunk.

"Oh dear...I hope Robin wouldn't mind." Starfire said shyly.

Robin was defending the control room now, and took out his two knight sticks (police batons). Twirling them skillfully and using them to swipe at his attackers. One android was sent back, his face broken in half by one of Robin's lunges. Another was tripped, and right before he hit the ground, received a kick in the chest that sent him flying into the wall.

Robin wanted to charge them, but they were too numerous, and soon he was forced behind the door by a barrage of lasers.

He gritted his teeth now, going over the gadgets that he had left in his belt, a few bird-a-rangs, perhaps one of those gigantic bombs, no, it was too risky here. If only he could reach his armoury in the basement...

The laser barrage ended however, and Robin sat curiously as he heard a crunch, a thud, more explosions, and then...silence. Footsteps were approaching the door now, and Robin prepared his bird-a-rangs.

"BOOYAH!" Cyborg exclaimed as he rushed through the door. "We kicked butt."

"That was only the first wave." Raven replied flatly, casually brushing some dust off her arm. "There will be more."

"Where is Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, flying into the room.

Robin shrugged, then just as he was about to say that he was probably still where was, there was a scream. A painful scream, that echoed through the battle scarred halls.

The scream however...was soon followed by a gigantic tremor, and Robin watched in surprise as the entire computer started shorting out, the walls were cracking, threatening to fall apart at the seams.

"Terra!" Robin exclaimed, and the Titans immediately bolted for the medical room.

Terra was screaming now, not in fear, but in pain. She thrashed around the medical bed wildly, and her eyes began glowing yellow.

"Ah!! No! Stop it!" She screamed.

"Terra, you got to fight it! You can't let him to this to you!" Beast Boy held her hand to try and comfort her, but Terra did not seem to even register his presence. He gripped his hand now. It was all his fault.

"Beast Boy!" Robin was the first in the room, and the titans immediately made way to her bed, ignoring the piles of robot wreckage that cluttered the room. It was obvious Slade had attacked here too, and Beast Boy had spent the whole time here protecting her.

"I don't know what to do..." He said helplessly.

"You can start by telling us what you know." Robin said sternly. "What's going on with Terra."

"Slade...he did something to her." Beast Boy said worriedly.

"What?" Robin replied.

Beast boy looked away now, and remembered the last words that Slade had told him earlier. "I....."

i Don't bother telling your friends. I will know if you do... /i

"Don't know..." He closed his eyes now, holding back the tears that were already stinging him.

"Well we can't afford to have her freaking out like this while we're off fighting Slade, we have to move her." Raven suggested.

"We can't, the tower's surrounded." Cyborg replied.

Robin gave a consenting nod. "We have no choice, we have to fight even under these conditions, perhaps this must have been Slade's plan after all, to wear us down."

"Yea, well this bot's not giving up this easily." Cyborg gave an energetic booyah as he took out his plasma cannon.

"Raven? Star?"

"Ready when you are." Raven nodded, charging her powers.

"I am most eager to help Robin, it is not over yet."

More explosions came from the lower levels now, signaling that the next wave had begun its advance.

"Alright then, let's go!"

**Meanwhile...deep within the city..**

The explosions that rocked Titan tower seemed so small from such a distance. From his position, he could make out the swarm of robots as they scaled the tower, blew holes in its walls. Already, the mighty T tower was almost a smoking ruin.

The citizens of Jump City however, had more important things to worry about, namely the fifty foot mass of electricity that rampaged through downtown, tossing up cars and absorbing all electrical equipment. Overload's distraction was serving quite nicely.

The city was in chaos, the police were barely able to respond in the blackout, and the Titans, were being overwhelmed.

The figure gave a smirk as watched Titan's tower, already resembling a piece of swiss cheese, with all those craters and holes.

His communicator was beeping now, and he instinctively took it out, stared at the intimidating face on the screen.

"Magnificent isn't it?" Slade replied through the screen.

"Couldn't have planned it better myself." The mysterious figure replied smoothly. He raised his head curiously as another larger explosion erupted from the roof of the tower. "Must be quite a party."

Slade however, was in no mood for idle chit chat. "The time is ripe. Strike now. And do not disappoint me." The screen went blank.

The figure nodded obligingly, and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Meanwhile on the island, the Titans continued fighting their private war, which dragged on through the long hours of the night.....

(stay tuned for part two)


	10. Attrition

Dawn had approached now...and the more the sun rose to illuminate Titans Tower, the more obvious the previous nights battle scars had become. The island on which the tower stood was a flaming wreck, along with the building itself. Holes covered the main structure, while steel beams jutted out from sections of the building that were blown away.

The robot fell back onto the couch, or what was left of it, smoke already rising from the big hole in its head.

Robin had dispatched this last one with considerable strain, and the night's continuous fighting had done much to drain him of his energy. He had always pulled all-nighters, investigating crime, but never like this. He leaned down on his Bo Staff for support, while the rest of the team recuperated in the medical room.

Terra was having nightmares again, with each successive few hours. She had raked the building's foundation, screaming even more at some unseen foe in her sleep. The only one who had managed to stay awake the whole time was Beast Boy, while the other titans stood on guard, exhausted. Even Silkie, who had done more of his share, was immobilized under a pile of Robots, his stomach giving him little mercy as he tried to sleep.

"Aw man...and I thought pulling all nighters with Beast Boy on the Gamestation was tiring." Cyborg gave a yawn, then a concerned check on his battery pack. "I'm almost out of juice, any more fighting and I'm going to go offline." He hit the wall in frustration. They had destroyed so many robots, but more came. The lounge alone was littered with so many of their bodies that it was possible to walk across it without touching the floor.

"Robin....I... feel weak." Starfire leaned against Robin now, almost falling into her arms. She had never exerted so much of her powers in one day, let alone a full night. She was exhausted, and needed rest. The battle with Overload and then this, was sending her to her limit.

"It's ok Star, you can rest, I'll handle the next wave." Robin carefully placed Starfire on one of the beds, next to Terra. He reached into his belt and took out his spherical bomb now, the one that could annihilate a good chunk of the enemy should they come again, if only he had space....

"Raven...are you... alright?" Robin turned around, and saw that she was standing in the corner, facing the wall.

"I..am alright Robin. It's just that. I have been able to find the time to meditate during this time. I don't know if I can go on." Her voice was weaker now, the considerable strain on her was showing through the bags under her eyes.

"What have I done...." Beast Boy was lamenting still, clasping onto the hands of a still unconscious Terra as she lay on the bed. Her face was still so beautiful even after all the pain that Slade had given to her, and he could not help but notice the innocence in her face. It was all his fault...

Robin gave Beast Boy a stern look, "If you want to help Terra Beast Boy, you can start by helping us."

Robin was being a hardass again, but this time, Beast Boy could not help but think he deserved it.

"I...don't know what I should do."

"You can start by moving her to another location." Raven replied seriously as she approached Beast Boy.

"No! We can't!" Beast Boy shouted. "If we take her out, Slade will get her."

"We can't protect her, if she keeps us up all night, Slade's robots don't need to eat, drink or sleep. We can't keep this up forever."

"There has to be a better way." Beast boy replied with a renewed optimism.

Raven closed her eyes now, and she opened them immediately, revealing a dangerous red glare. Her voice began sounding more demonic now. Objects around the room began flying around now, and the ground began rumbling, only this time, it wasn't Terra.

"LOOK! It is either her or us! If she stays anymore, she'll destroy us! If you were so stupid we'd-"She put her hand on her mouth now, eyes wide open in shock. The terrifying red glare was gone now...

She instantly bowed her head in regret. "Beast Boy... I didn't mean....It's just I need meditation to keep my powers in check."

"No...You're right." Beast boy closed his eyes now, his thoughts resolved. "I'm sorry."

"Why did you do such a thing Beast Boy?" Starfire asked while she was lying down.

"I don't know....Slade... he told me that he found a way, and that you guys had given up on her. I guess I missed Terra so much I didn't know what to say to him when he offered to free her. Besides, he threatened to hurt her."

"B, we've been trying all the time, never gave up, never did." Cyborg replied now, talking as he rerouted some of his internal power cells to his drained weapons systems.

"And no one's worked harder than Raven, she stayed up almost every night looking for a spell in her books even after you gave up there." Starfire interjected.

Beast Boy gave an astonished look to Raven. "Raven...why?"

Raven, still ashamed by her sudden demonic outburst, did not even turn around as she replied. "Because that is what friends are for Beast Boy, besides, you had always been there to help me, I just...wanted to return the favour."

"It wasn't your fault Beast Boy, if Slade found a way before we did, he probably would have freed her anyway, and used her against us just like now." Robin replied helpfully.

Beast Boy lifted his head now, and stood up, a renewed energy and determination blazed in his eyes. "No, I'm the one who started this, and I'm the one who should put an end to this."

Robin, the only other titan that did not seem to be affected by the fatigue, gave a smile. "Good to see that you're up to the game Beast Boy. I could sure use your help."

Beast Boy gave an affirming nod.

"Cyborg...keep watch over Raven and Starfire.. they need rest."

The android gave a cordial salute. "Don't worry about them, Ole Cy's got it covered."

Robin gave an assuring grin, then went with Beast boy to the outer doors of the control room.

The alarms blared again, and the ominous sounds of marching were heard from the lower stories of the tower. The door jolted now, a result of hundreds of robots on the other side trying to claw and pound their way in.

"Well...looks like its up to us now." Robin said seriously, retracting his trusty Bo staff from his belt.

"Do you...still trust me?" Beast Boy asked, slightly astonished that the whole betrayal thing wasn't taken too personally by Robin.

Robin shook his head. "I've seen too many of Slade's tricks, heck he did the same thing to me. I know what it feels like...to have no choice, to be manipulated into feeling helpless." He offered consolingly. "Besides Beast Boy, you'll always be a member of this team. And now, we've got some work to do. Here." He tossed Beast Boy one of his bo staffs.

"Dude, I don't know how to use this." Beast Boy said, cringing as more explosions rocked the door, the robots were coming closer.

"Then you better learn fast. Let's go!" He slammed the door lock now, and the passageway opened, revealing the cold faces of several dozen robots.

The two titans began with an attack, charging the Robots in a full frontal assault; the wave of enemies commenced their own charge.

Robin was the first to strike, digging his bo staff into the ground in front of him and performing a pole vaulting kick which sent one of the robots flying backwards into its counterparts. Beast Boy, fumbling with the Bo staff, managed to trip one of the robots in a clumsy swipe, while impaling the head of another as he tried to swing it at another enemy.

"Robin Catch!" Beast Boy, giving up on the staff, tossed it to Robin, who skillfully twirled the two weapons in his hands, swiping and lunging at the Robots who attempted to overpower him.

Beast Boy, free from that clumsy instrument, transformed into a velociraptor and quickly tore the head off an android with his teeth. While another was impaled against the wall when he charged it in his rhino form.

More robots came into the room, armed with lasers, and Beast Boy quickly transformed into a falcon, swerving left and right near the ceiling to avoid their blasts. They had fought their way into the lounge now, and the tall rooms gave Beast Boy plenty of open space to manuver.

The displays of aerial aerobics however, ended when Beast Boy turned into a T-rex just as he was above a group of ten robots, with a resounding _smash _the group of robots were flattened into the floor, throwing up huge clouds of dust and rubble as they exploded in his wake.

Beast boy went back to human form now, and saw that over a dozen more robots were surrounding him, each one leveling their lasers and charging for the kill.

He braced himself for the attack, transforming into an ankylosaur (dinosaur with bone tail and armour).

However, no attack came, in one swift action, a bird-a-rang flew in a great circle, decapitating each Robot as it passed them in succession. The bird-a-rang cut through the air quickly, and Robin caught it just as he walked up to Beast Boy, the twenty or so Robots had their heads fall off soon after, collapsing onto the ground.

"I think we're making progress. The waves are getting shorter." Robin commented, two bo staffs still in his hands.

More explosions came from down the hall now, back from where they started, the Robots were attacking the control room again.

"Aw man, you had to say something didn't ya?" Beast Boy groaned, then transformed into a cheetah and ran with Robin back into the dark battle scarred halls.

They had done it.

Just barely however, even Robin was feeling the strains of the constant fighting that had started since early last night. He stood at the door now, catching his breath while thinking of a way to end this vicious cycle.

Terra had caused more earthquakes during this time, and the whole building shook violently as windows shattered, equipment fell over, and holes began emerging from the ceiling. It this kept going on, there would be no tower to defend.

Upon hearing more explosions coming from outside, Robin opened the door, and Beast Boy hurriedly took a diving jump through the opening, just in time to avoid the barrage of laser fired that blazed on behind him.

"We can't keep this up for long." Cyborg stood up now, fully armed and ready for the next round, his repairs were already completed, but he was afraid his weapons systems could give out any minute now from the constant fighting.

"No." Robin replied, "that's why we're going to end this now. But we are going to have to do it together. Are you sure you are ready?"

"Ready to kick some Robot butt." Cyborg said reassuringly.

"I have recuperated somewhat Robin, I believe I am ready." Starfire, slightly recovered, got out of bed and prepared for the next fight.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked with concern.

She had not meditated for almost two days now, and the struggle to keep control between her and her demon side was already showing from the strain on her face. But she nodded anyways.

"I'll be fine."

Robin gave an uneasy look at Raven, but nodded in acknowledgment. He then began.

"Ok titans, I have a plan, but we have to reach my lab in the basement. I know how we can stop Slade's army."

"That won't be easy," Cyborg replied. "Whole building is probably still swarming with Slade bots."

Robin nodded. "That is why we all have to go."

"But what about Terra?" Beast boy asked apprehensively, astonished at the notion that they were going to leave her alone.

"Slade's after us remember? Besides, he wouldn't do anything to Terra, not when she's causing all that trouble for us." Robin safely concluded. "You guys in?"

The titans all agreed, and Beast Boy reluctantly joined in, giving an affirming nod.

"Don't worry B, ill place this area under heavy security lockdown, not even a fly can get in." Cyborg said reassuringly.

Robin, satisfied that the team was ready, began. "Alright then, we got no time to waste, every second we spend here is a second gone to Slade, let's move out!"

And so they went off, to the lower levels of the tower.

The five titans wandered the darkened halls cautiously now, each step they took was littered with the smoking remains of dozens of Robots, and it was impossible not to find a smoking crater or hole in every wall they passed. The tower would need some serious renovation when this was over...if this would ever be over.

Starfire and Cyborg led the way, star used her powers as a guiding beacon of light for the group while Cyborg had his shoulder lights on. His sonic cannon aimed down the hall, ready to attack anything that might move.

There was nothing, and the team went deeper into the tower basement, pass the crates in the underground storage to a location that many did not visit. Robin's secret workshop and armoury. They eventually entered a hollow chamber, dominated by a set of large double steel doors that led to the lab, and Robin's secret weapon.

The room was dark, and Robin felt through the walls now, looking for the control panel to turn on the lights. The rest of the team stood by; there was something peculiar about the room that made them edgy.

The lights went on now, lighting the room as bright as day. But it was not Robin who did it.

The titans watched in surprise as dozens of heavy androids with giant laser cannon arms stood around the titans, they were standing in neat lines, of two ranks deep, each one surrounding a side of the room. It was obvious that they were expected.

"Welcome Titans, I was wondering how long it would take you to arrive." Slade, for the first time now, stepped forward, revealing himself to the Titans.

"So...you've been here all the time." Robin said icily, taking out his bo staff while the rest of the titans prepared to attack the robots.

"I must congratulate you Titans, I never expected you to destroy so much of my androids. So I decided to accompany this next wave myself, to see whether or not you are up to the challenge." Slade talked with an amused voice, as if this was all a game to him.

"You'll pay for what you did to Terra." Starfire shouted out angrily.

Slade merely brushed that threat aside. "Please little girl, you are in no position to be threatening me. You barely have enough strength to stay afloat, let alone represent a threat to me."

"Enough talk, Titans go!" Robin threw a smoke bomb now obscuring the room in a thick cloud of gray fog. The androids around them immediately began firing into the smoke, hoping to destroy the Titans before they had a chance to move.

The team was faster however, and soon explosions racked the side of the walls. Starbolts flew here and there, blasting several droids into eternity. Raven meanwhile, ripped a steel beam from the wall and managed to impale three robots in rapid succession, before they exploded.

Robin ran straight at Slade, he did not feel tired now, didn't even wounds he had received from last nights fight. He was driven, driven by a rage that he had never truly suppressed. It was time to settle the rivalry now, the rivalry that had gone on for as long as he could remember. Even after Terra supposedly killed the villain, Robin's fight with Slade never ended, their rivalry never died. For Robin, it would never truly end until he was the one who would finish this madman off for good.

Robin ran and punched at the obscure shadow in the smoke, but stumbled forward as his fist punched through thin air.

With horrific realization, Robin fell back as he was kicked right in the stomach, his bo staff falling harmlessly onto the floor.

Slade picked up the Bo staff, did not even speak as he charged Robin with a barrage of blows, each one recurring faster and faster. Robin retreated before his attacker's swings, blocking, swerving and avoiding. Deciding that he had enough, he held his ground, trying his best to block the each of Slade's swings. Then Robin skillfully sidestepped, avoiding the upper end of the staff as Slade lunged it upwards at Robin's neck.

The two assailants backed away now, circling as they glared into each others eyes.

"Perhaps you haven't gotten that sloppy after all Robin, I am glad, it makes things...much more interesting." He swung the bo staff at Robin's feet, tripping him sideways. Robin however, quickly pushed down on the ground with his right arm, regaining his balance, while giving Slade a foot in the face. The villain arched back slightly, recovering from the blow. The bo staff flying wildly into the air as he backed away.

"Maybe you're the one who's getting sloppy Slade." Robin grinned, then caught the staff in midair with one hand, spinning it skillfully as he assumed his combat stance.

Slade, slightly amused, calmly wiped a small spatter of blood from his mask. Around the two combatants, the Titans were almost evenly matched against Slade's best Robot commandos. Raven performed a rippling wave spell which sliced through a pack of androids like a hot knife through butter, while Cyborg punched another one through the wall.

"I have looked forward to this battle for a long time Robin. My former apprentice." Slade took out his own bo staff now, and he casually walked toward Robin, holding it in only one hand, Robin stood ready.

"I must say though, you did a very brave thing. Refusing my offer, showing me where your true loyalties lie, it was a very brave act. I respect that, but I cannot tolerate it. If you are not with me, you are against me, and you will regret ever going against me." He gave Robin a menacing stare, then attacked, swinging the Bo staff with such ferocity that Robin felt his body shudder when he blocked the blows. Slade, taking advantage of this, punched robin in the face with his free hand, sending the boy wonder flying across the room.

Robin grunted now, and after recovering his stance, he assailed Slade with everything he had. Slade calmly parried each attack, matching Robin blow for blow. The Boy wonder soon lost his momentum, and Slade was once again gaining ground in the fight.

Robin began using only one hand with his Bo staff now. Where he couldn't make up for Slade's strength, he was at least Slightly faster. He jumped back, throwing up a trail of dust behind him, obscuring Slade from the fact that he just took out one of his sharpened Bird-a-rangs.

Robin swiped with his bird-a-rang now, and Slade dodged the blade by mere inches, throwing up sparks as the bird-a-rang cut a deep scar in his mask.

Slade, surprised that he had been caught like that, felt the jagged scratch on his mask.

"You're going to pay for that." He gave a fast kick, and Robin once again flew back against the wall.

"Robin!" Starfire cried out as she quickly flew to his assistance. The rest of the Titans were there now, and Slade looked around the room in surprise as he noticed that his Robot escort was destroyed now, its smoking remains littering the room.

"It's over Slade!" Beast Boy said fiercely. "You can't take all of us on."

"Oh really? In any case, you may have a point. Five against one is not the best of odds, perhaps I should bring in an old friend." He took out a device from his belt now, and pressed one of its buttons.

The entire room shook wildly now, and it seemed as if the Tower, already on its last legs, was collapsing outright. The Titans looked up in horror, and saw a hole break open from the ceiling, clouding the room in more dust and obscure rubble. A figure approached now, floating down onto the battlefield, and Beast Boy could hardly accredit his eyes.

"Terra?" It was her, but something did not seem right. Her eyes were cold, lifeless, there was no expression on her face. They should not have left her alone.

"Emotion was the one thing that got in her way when she was my apprentice. Take that away...and you have the perfect weapon. No remorse. No mercy. And to make things more interesting..." Slade snapped his fingers now, and one entire section of the wall collapsed, revealing one last host of Androids, this one bigger than all of the other waves.

"There, now I think the odds are a bit evened. Titans, meet my team."

There was no need to introductions, the two sides immediately clashed. Terra went for Beast Boy, while cyborg, raven and starfire took care of the robots. Slade continued his private duel with Robin.

"Terra! Stop! This isn't you."

"You know nothing about me." She replied emotionlessly. Her eyes lit up now, and soon jagged spikes of rocks began sprouting from the floor, Beast Boy skillfully rushed Terra, all the while dodging the obstacles she threw up in his path.

Cyborg fired his plasma cannon into the crowd, managing to carve a path straight through them. He tried to exploit it, but then he felt his arm weakening...His power was drained. No.. not now!

He grunted as the Androids counter attacked, sending him reeling back into the wall with a wall of laser fire.

Starfire was having just as much trouble trying to keep focused. Her starbolts were flying wildly now. She was losing her concentration, hours of continuous fighting were beginning to take a toll on her mind and body. She could not fly anymore, instead settled for throwing as many starbolts into the crowd of Robots as she could. She hardly missed however, as they were all bunched up. Cyborg, his weapons gone, ran up and did it the old fashioned way. Punching his way through the crowd, continuing on even though twenty Robots tried to drag him down, piling over him.

Raven had lost control now, and her eyes flared red as the demonic side of her consciousness took over. She snarled with pure rage as she began growing to impossible heights. A tornado of swirling energy surrounding her. Thick black tendrils began shooting from underneath her cloak now, tearing Slade Bots in half while dragging others into the darkness that was shrouded her. The Slade bots frantically tried to break free, digging their hands into the concrete floor as they were dragged into the unknown.

"Raven! Stop!" Starfire, the last of her energies gone, cried out weakly, they were surrounded by more of Slade's androids now.

Raven gasped, opening her eyes wide in shock, they were back to normal. Before she could react however, a giant boulder fell from the ceiling, knocking her unconscious. She fell now, saved from death by beast boy, who caught her by the cape as a tiger.

He settled her down next to the door, and charged through the other Slade bots as a Rhino, freeing Cyborg and Star from the Robot's grasps. Without thinking, the two titans quickly ran over to defend Raven.

Terra however, was relentless, she conjured up more spikes now, throwing boulders and detaching pieces of the wall and sending them right at Beast Boy. He was in a dilemma now, he couldn't hurt her...this wasn't her fault, only his...

Then it flashed through his mind.

_"You got to stop me Beast Boy...I don't want to fight anymore."_

With a great Roar, Beast boy charged, smashing through the stones as a triceratops and avoiding the spikes as a Falcon. He flew up to Terra's platform now, and she threw up a rock barrier, anticipating the attack.

"I'm sorry Terra."

He transformed into a gorilla now, smashing through the rock wall and landing a hard punch onto Terra. She grunted as she fell back, hitting her head against one of the steel panels in the room. She was knocked out.

Beast Boy gently set her aside now, protected under one of the steel panels, away from the battle. He quickly checked her for any bleeding, and to his relief, found none.

Robin was losing his duel with Slade now, as the masked man caught Robin's leg, picked him up and threw him onto the ground in the center of the room. Beast Boy and the rest of the Titans instinctively ran to back their leader up, and Raven, recovering from her temporary loss of control, floated above the group, hands charged and ready to fight.

Slade merely laughed as more Robots poured into the room, there must have been over two hundred of them now, and they marched ominously, their footsteps echoing through the hallways of the chamber.

"Well now Titans, it seems that you are at the end of your limit. A pity, I had expected this to last much longer." The Robots completed their encirclement now, and the exhausted Titans were still catching their breath as every Robot leveled their laser cannons, ready to blast the team into oblivion.

"Any last words?" Slade said with relish.

The room was silent now, and the Titans watched anxiously as each Robot aimed a cannon right at them. It looked like it was all over now. They were at the end of their endurance, they were outnumbered, and they had no hope of defeating the odds set against them.

Then to the Slade's surprise, Robin gave a confident smirk.

"You aren't the only one who can set a trap, Slade. You just fell into one."

----------

I apologize if you guys wanted more 'reaction' ;) but i'm writing this as if it were an episode, not a novel / but i hope you guys still like it. Theres two more updates before this fic ends.


	11. Reflections

_My name is Terra._

I had been an orphan all my life, an outcast. I moved from city to city, never finding a place to stay, and always causing pain and destruction everywhere I go. I was alone, I was lost, until I found them. My friends.

The Teen Titans.

For the first time in my life, I felt accepted, felt what it was like to be wanted, and to be loved. I was happy.

Then I met Slade. He offered me freedom, freedom from the burden. He helped me keep in check the indomitable powers that had haunted me my whole life. I was trained, and slowly regained control of myself. However, It all had a price, and I soon lost control of what I could do. I was an apprentice.

I betrayed my friends soon after, and foolishly brushed aside their attempts to save me. Without knowing it, I had become one of the bad guys. I was a villain, a common criminal.

With the help of my friends however, and Beast Boy, I was able to break free from Slade, and for once, I was able to do the right thing. I saved the city, at the price of my own freedom, and I was trapped in a stone prison for what seemed to be an eternity, as a consequence of my deeds.

Now, I am given a second chance. A chance to finally control my own life.

I cannot atone for the past, nor can I expect them to forgive me for all that I have done. But I have learned from my mistakes, and now, I can start by doing the right thing. Perhaps in time, they will find it in their hearts to forgive me, to be able to call me a friend once again....

This is my hope.

This is my Redemption….


	12. Master and Apprentice

**Part 3**

"Cyborg! Shut down!" Robin shouted as he pulled a controller from his belt.

"What?! Are you crazy? What if they-"

Robin however, had no time. Keeping his bo staff on hand while the controller was in the other. Both his eyes never left Slade's "Just trust me, it'll only be a minute."

In the face of Robin's grim determination, Cyborg complied. "Alright. Activating temporary shut down." Cyborg pressed a button on his arm now, and within seconds his entire body slowly became inactive. His blue cybernetic armour slowly faded to a grey as the half-human, half robotic titan stood still, frozen like a statue.

"An interesting plan Robin. Disable one Titan for me….Just what are you trying to do?" Slade asked mockingly. "Use your friend as a rag doll shield?"

Robin gave a grin, a grin he rarely gave to someone as dangerous as Slade. "You are aware of an Electro Magnetic Pulse right?" He flashed the controller in front of Slade's face. The villain's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Thought so."

Robin pressed the button.

The entire tower was shaking now; a blast emerged from Robin's laboratory. Only it wasn't an explosion per say, it was more like a wave. The air around them shook violently and became distorted in rippling waves. Beast Boy ran to catch a deactivated Cyborg as he tipped over from the earthquake, while Raven and Starfire covered their ears from the sound waves that shook the building. The wave passed the Titans harmlessly, although its effects were becoming apparent. Each one of Slade's robots was twitching uncontrollably now, their circuits fried by the resulting electric and magnetic fields that reverberated out of Robin's lab. The large heavy androids fell down now, like useless dolls, while other Slade bot's had their faces blown up, a horrible mess of circuitry and wires spewing forth.

Starfire, in the midst of all this, finally understood what Robin had been working on in his lab since the first day they saw Slade. But why didn't he tell them?

Her thoughts however, were interrupted as a series of explosions shook the room. In an instant, the hundreds of Slade bots that surrounded the Titans were destroyed.

The smoke began lifting now, revealing the angry silhouette of Slade, who stood in front of Robin, fists gripped. It seemed to everyone that Robin had uncharacteristically planned ahead of Slade for once.

"Looks like you're the one who's outnumbered Slade. At least this time I know you're not a robot". Robin commented on the fact that Slade was still standing even after the EMP, he was real this time, living and breathing.

There was no humour in Robin's voice, and he resumed his combat stance with the Bo staff. Cyborg, who restarted now, wondered out loud how the hundreds of Robot bodies around them suddenly just shut down. Soon however, the titans readied themselves for the next attack.

Slade, whom at first seemed to be shaking with rage, quickly resumed his calm stance; his gripped fists suddenly stopped shaking. He was chuckling in his usual sophisticated tone now as he gave an ironic clap of his hands.

"Impressive Robin, you have shown your skills well. Good coordination and execution, as well as thoughtful advanced planning. And you wonder why I chose you as my apprentice? But at what price? You could have triggered the bomb earlier, instead, you wait until your team is exhausted after a full night of fighting. And all…just to drag me here? Now was that worth it?"

"Shut up Slade," Robin said scornfully. "Its over."

"Sadly it isn't, skilled as you may be as my apprentice, I am still the master. You see… I too think one step ahead."

Robin stood dumbfounded there for a second. He had seen through Slade's siege, but there was another plan? Perhaps he was bluffing.

Robin however, got his answer less than a second later. The floor began shaking violently now, and the Titans quickly crowded around each other as beams from the ceiling collapsed onto the floor, while rock and rubble cracked around them. Slade however, just stood calmly in front of them.

Beast Boy however, knew what was going on. "He's still controlling Terra!" he ran towards Slade now, in the hopes of perhaps disabling whatever controller he was carrying.

Slade merely smirked. "Once again my friend, you are wrong."

Beast Boy stopped just inches from Slade now, not because he was frightened or anything, but because a huge red wall of lasers suddenly sprouted out from the ground. A series of laser beams surrounded the titans now, circling them and cutting a neat circle around them.

"Going down Titans?" Slade said tauntingly just before the ground gave way.

The five titans fell at least two hundred feet into a cavern now, a cavern that looked all too familiar to Raven and Robin. This was where Slade had planned to sink their tower many months ago, apparently, he was still using it.

Starfire, drained of her energy, tried her best to carry all her friends, along with Raven, but the two girls simply did not have the strength to fly for that long and soon, both plummeted with their friends to the bottom of the pit. Steel girders, gears, and elevators ringed the complex, while the team landed on the remains of a wrecked computer console. The resulting crash brought up a torrent of dust and smoke. The Titans groaned as they tried recovered from the fall.

"Is everyone Ok?" Robin asked assertively as he tried to regain his bearings.

"I'm alright, I landed on something soft." Raven commented.

"That….was me." Beast Boy said, his eyes still spinning wildly from the fall, another huge bruise began appearing on his head now, next to the old one that Raven gave to him at the quarry days ago.

"Aw man, the fall trashed my light, now how am I supposed to see?" Cyborg complained. In that instant, the lights of the complex came to life, along with the whirring of machinery around them. The entire room was now lighted, clear as day.

"Finally!" Cyborg said as he clapped the dust off his hands. "some consideration at last."

"Um Cyborg…I don't think that was for us." Raven commented.

Cyborg gave a confused look at Raven, "What? What do you-" He stared at the walls now, and watched with horror as he realized that there were eyes staring at them. Hundreds of them, cold robotic eyes that belonged to Slade's best Robot commandos, who had hidden themselves on the steel beams along the walls.

Then Beast Boy had to say it.

"Dude…can it get any more worse than this?"

The ground shook again, and the familiar Mechanical whirring of a huge drill echoed through the chamber. The ground beneath the platform they were on erupted now, and out sprouted the gigantic ten story robotic worm. The one remaining worm that they had failed to destroy days ago, its six laser beam eyes charged as it scanned the five titans, who could only watch in awe as the worm revealed its true size, dominating the room as well as blocking out much of the lighting from the walls.

"Do you always have to open your mouth like that?" Raven commented, slightly annoyed.

The fight did not last long. The Titans had been fighting for over a day non-stop. Raven was the first to give out, her powers drained to the point where she lost conciousness. Starfire followed soon after, knocked out by a laser blast from the worm's eyes.

Cyborg, his battery drained, did not have the power to use his weaponry, which meant that he was quickly overwhelmed as two dozen Slade drones jumped from the girders, resulting in a giant pile up which left the android titan helpless.

That left Robin and Beast Boy, and immediately the two began squaring off against Slade's robot commandos. Robin, his bo staff lost in the fall, was using his twin knight sticks to fend off the Robotic attackers, while Beast boy tried his best to get inside the robot worm. Sticking onto it as an octopus and feeling the metallic sides for any holes. The worm however, was not proving cooperative, and it swerved throughout the chamber, digging holes in and out of the room and sliding through them in an attempt to throw Beast Boy off it's back.

Robin fought with his usual ferocity. One robot received two lunges in the face, before it was sent flying into its other robot comrades with a shift kick to the chest. One of the heavy droids received a hole in its stomach as Robin stabbed it with his two steel Knight sticks. Right before it exploded however, Robin hurled the impaled Android into a group of slade bots, who quickly vanished in an orange flash as the entire cavern echoed in a gigantic explosion.

The Boy wonder did not remember much after that, and he soon found himself on the floor just feet away from where he used to stand, the blast throwing him back an immense distance. He was breathing hard now, his endurance training had never put this much strain on him, and soon the effects of over a day of straight combat was etching at his strength. He knelt down to catch his breath.

Another Slade bot tried to pull a sucker punch however, and just as Robin knelt down, he gave the robot a sweeping kick, tripping it, then picked up its leg and threw it off the platform, into the dark caverns below. There were more robots approaching and Robin had no more strength, he was on his knees now, tired, exhausted, nearly at the end of his limit.

Then the androids stopped. And an all too familiar voice echoed in the chamber.

"Tired already Robin? A shame. Had you gone on to be my apprentice, I would have trained your endurance to be much higher than this." He appeared now, walking calmly between his robots as they made way for him in the ranks.

"I am extremely disappointed." He gave Robin another one of his glares.

"Ugh!" Beast Boy groaned as he was thrown off the worm, landing only a few feet from Robin. He watched with shock as the rest of the titans were arrayed in front of them, each one in the grappling arms of an android.

"Let them go." Robin said darkly as he stood up, grabbing his two knight sticks as if he were threatening to lunge them at the masked villain.

"Robin, must we repeat the same old cycle again? You threaten me? I threaten you? You should know by now. It is I who wins in the end." He snapped his fingers now, and two slade bots, who used the lull in the fighting to approach Robin, hit Robin hard on the neck, knocking him down and causing him to drop his knight sticks.

"Now…isn't that better? Face it Robin, it's over, there is no need to continue suffering anymore. In fact, let's end it right now." Slade looked at the ceiling now, and watched as a reawakened Terra floated down gently to where the disabled Titans lay. Her face was stone cold, showing no emotion.

"Now where have I seen this before?" Slade gave a slightly amused chuckle. "Oh yes!" he said in feigned realization. "This reminds me of the last time where I had her finish you off. Rest assured, this time, there won't be any distractions." She was level with the Titans now, and already a gigantic boulder, perhaps fifty feet in diameter, was slowly being assembled from small rocks that filtered from the walls into one huge blob of granite. Her eyes were still blank.

"Terra! Don't! You gotta fight it!" Beast Boy shouted out. "We're you're friends! Remember who you are!"

Slade smirked. "Did I forget to tell you? My nanoprobes can alter memories. Every thing she ever knew about you can vanish with a push of a button."

Beast Boy was on his knees now, dejected by what had happened, all he had done. If it weren't for him, his friends wouldn't be like this….Terra…It was all his fault. But still, he couldn't give up. "Terra!"

"It is useless boy. My nanobots are still in her body, and hence, she is still under my control. She does not even remember you. Go ahead my dear, tell them. Tell them who you are. You are my apprentice." Slade gave a triumphant grin, then turned to Terra "and you serve only me."

"My name..is" Terra began in a monotone and lifeless voice. Each word stung Beast boy like a dagger, but then she closed her eyes, as if struggling to complete the sentence. Slade's eyes opened wide as she finished.

"My name is Terra. And you will not hurt my friends anymore!" She shouted, her eyes began glowing yellow now. The chamber was shaking violently.

"Terra!" Beast Boy shouted joyfully, almost in tears.

"How…is this possible, my nano-probes…" Slade took out his controller, vainly tried to figure out what was wrong, then gave Robin a deathly stare. "The EMP.....You…planned this far ahead?" Slade said with an angry surprise.

Robin gave a grin. "Yes. I knew about your nano-probes Slade, so I found a way to save her."

Beast Boy gave a surprised, grateful look to Robin. "Dude! But…how did you!"

"Remember that communicator I gave you before you went out to look for Terra? Well, I was worried, so I placed it on the same frequency as my communicator. I heard everything Slade said."

Slade barely had time to reply now, he was jumping back, avoiding the rock spikes that protruded from the ground, impaling many of Slade's robots at once.

"Destroy them!" He shouted angrily.

Terra stood in front of Robin and Beast Boy now, closing her eyes as she channeled every rock within the cavern. Robots were being destroyed left and right, some torn to pieces by jagged spikes, others flattened by floating boulders and others sliced into pieces with spinning rock plates.

"Hurry guys, save them! I gotta stay and fill up the chamber." Terra shouted as she wreaked havoc on Slade's minions.

Robin nodded, then ran off to carry Starfire up to the ceiling, while a much relieved Cyborg grabbed Raven. He shot his left arm to the ceiling, acting as a grappling hook which pulled them out, while Robin did the same, shooting a grappling hook to latch onto the ceiling. The four titans were soon gone.

They left Terra now, and she stood there on the platform, preparing to channel enough mud into this cavern to fill it up, to make sure Slade would never use it again. Cracks began erupting from the wall, releasing huge amounts of mud and water that slowly flooded the chamber.

This time around however, she had backup.

"You're not alone this time." Beast Boy placed an affectionate hand on Terra's shoulder.

Terra gave a smile, but she barely had time to reply when the ten story mechanical worm bursted out from the floor, giving a roar as it charged up it's laser.

"Hey wormy! Chew on this!" Terra grunted now, and the huge gigantic boulder that was levitating in the middle of the room quickly crashed right into the Worm's mouth. The beast tried to spit it out, but it found that it was useless. From the rock, Terra then morphed it into a gigantic spike, sending it straight through the worm's insides.

It was a more effective way than Beast Boy, and within an instant the worm was torn inside out, exploding violently as it sank, vanishing beneath the swirling sea of mud that continually rose.

Robin, hoping to be of assistance, jumped down from the hole in the ceiling now, landing on one of the platforms that overlooked the entire chamber.

"Let's get out of here!" Terra exclaimed, then made a boulder for her and Beast Boy to float on. Beast Boy could hardly speak as he looked into her eyes. Terra was giving him an affectionate smile as they floated to the ceiling. Finally…after all this time…she was back.

A dark figure watched from one of the platforms as the two titans floated on the boulder, beneath them was a swirling sea of mud, filled with a clutter of robot wreckage. He gripped his fists angrily now, and took out a laser pistol from his belt.

"I gave you the training to use that power, and I can easily take it away." Slade pointed his gun towards Terra, who was concentrating on filling the cavern as fast as she could with mud and earth while she directed the boulder away.

"You've betrayed me for the last time Apprentice." He fired, bathing the cavern in a red glow, and in that split second, Terra's world went dark.

Terra gave a weak groan as she fell off the floating rock. The rock itself, falling shortly afterwards. She created a huge splash as she landed in the swirling ocean of mud below, she sank quickly, and Beast boy could only see her hand reaching out to the sky weakly right before it sank beneath the waves.

"TERRA!" Beast Boy shouted, then wasting no time, transformed into a falcon and dove straight into the mud to rescue her.

Slade gave a satisfying chuckle as he watched. He had done all he could now, all that was left was to escape. He turned around, and gave an amused look at the dark figure who stood in the shadows of the platform.

"It's time to finish this Slade." Robin said as he whipped out his two knight sticks. "Right here. Right now. Once and for all."

The masked villain did not say anything, instead he just turned around, took out and retracted his bo staff. While this was happening, the cavern around them seemed to be collapsing, shaking violently.

"I always knew it would end like this Robin. You and Me, settling it alone on the field of combat."

"The only thing that's going to end, is you!" Robin rushed now, hitting Slade with a series of lunging thrusts.

Slade backed away, quickly getting the rhythm of Robin's attacks. He dodged one of the knight sticks from Robin's weak hand, the left, and parried the second lung with his bo staff. Both weapons clashed and that sent violent shudders through Robin's arm. Slade however, was quicker, and he kicked one of the knight sticks out of Robin's hand, sending it to the swirling sea below.

"Face it Robin, you are going to lose. You are at the edge of your limit. While I…am fresh and rested."

"You won't be if I make you move more." Robin screamed a challenge, throwing two explosive discs that Slade quickly dodged. The boy wonder charged forward now, using his last knight stick with both hands, like a club. Slade merely ducked out of the way, then lunged his bo staff up at Robin's chin.

He dodged it quickly, but the staff grazed his face, and that quickly gave Slade the opening he needed for another punch to Robin's face. The knight stick fell on the ground now, and Slade casually kicked it off the ledge.

"Well now Robin, it seems that you are out of weapons. How then, are you proposing to win this fight?"

"Same way I always do." Robin spat out a cough of blood, then stood up in defiance. He took two birdarangs out of his belt, one in each hand, then he combined them into a sword. "improvise."

Slade gave another amused chuckle. "A sword robin? How very Archaic of you. What's next? A shining suit of armour?"

The blade glinted brilliantly as Robin held it in both hands, horizontally in front of his face. "I'm going to stop you here Slade….even if it costs me my life."

"A foolish gesture, which will only end in your utter defeat." Slade charged with his Bo staff now, but Robin countered with his own attack. His blade swang widely and clanged violently with Slade's metallic bo staff. Robin was on the attack. A swing here, a punch there, Slade backed away, using his bo staff to block the series of sword swipes that the boy wonder dished out. It was as if Robin had caught a second wind, summoning his last reserves of energy. Slade continued backing away now, and soon he felt the edge of the platform behind him. It was time to strike back.

With an impressive arcing swing, he met Robin's sword with his bo staff, using all his strength in the hopes of beating robin back.

Slade's bo staff broke in half, shattering into a million pieces soon after and the masked villain opened his eyes in horror as Robin's attack hit home.

"It's over Slade." Robin said, the tip of his sword dripping with the fresh blood of the villain.

Slade held onto his wounded shoulder now, a slow trickle of blood flowing down his arm. He started laughing.

"Impressive Robin, you actually hurt me. To be honest, I never expected it." Slade said smoothly as he backed away from Robin, who kept his sword point aimed at Slade. "However, once again you are sadly mistaken." He shot a last deathly glare as he stood just an inch over the edge. "This is only the beginning."

Slade fell backwards now, seemingly plummeting into the swirling sea of mud below. But there was no splash….

Robin ran to the edge now, and saw with frustration that Slade had fallen into one of the lower platforms, which contained one of the holes that the worm dug as it tried to shake off Beast Boy. Unbeknownst to Robin, Slade had the worm dig to the surface during its fight with the green titan. Robin clenched his fists as he heard the same line repeated to him, echoing through the chamber as violently as it echoed through his head almost every night.

"Another day Robin…Another day."

Beast Boy emerged from the mud now, transformed as a Pterodactyl, in his claws, he carried Terra.

Robin escaped the chamber now, the mud had already reached the ceiling and was showing signs of slowing down. Calmly, he shot his grappling hook to the ceiling and quickly hoisted himself back to Titan's tower.

The rest of the Titans were there now, Starfire and Raven had recovered, and Cyborg caught Terra as Beast Boy dropped her into his arms. He quickly transformed back now, and the titans gave Beast Boy room as he propped Terra up in his arms.

The mud covered girl groaned weakly as she was settled down on the floor. She opened her eyes, just as Beast Boy held her in his arms.

"Terra! You're ok!" Beast Boy felt the tears of joy coming on now, finally, after a year! They were together.

Terra gave a weak smile. "It's ok now Beast Boy. I ….remember everything…I'm finally free from Slade."

Beast Boy's eyes widened in horror as he looked into Terra's eyes. He lowered his head onto hers now, hugging her even tighter than before. He had tried his best, swallowing hard as he fought back the tears these previous days, but now…there was no control, no restraint, the tears flowed now and Beast boy sobbed openly.

"Terra……no……."


	13. Aftermath

**Epilogue : Hereafter**

It was noon now at Titans Tower, and the traces of battle were evident throughout the tower. Windows were broken, walls were destroyed. Smoking craters littered the compound, while the burning wreckage of all of Slade's robots littered the landscape.

It was a beautiful day, and the sea winds blew a soothing breeze from the west, sending gentle waves crashing along the rocks of the beautiful white sand beach of their island, which was spared the night's events.

They led her slowly out of the tower. Beast boy helping her with a guiding hand while Raven stood walked her to the shore. They had beaten Slade, destroyed his robots and foiled his plans again.

But it felt nothing like a victory.

"Thank you Beast Boy, for saving me."

"But Terra…you're……." Beast Boy almost choked, fighting back the tears, it was the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life, but he wanted to say something, anything to comfort her.

The sun was shining radiantly that day, and the entire sea around the island was sparkling in rich beauty. Seagulls flapped in the sky, while the flowers were in full bloom, a soothing wind blanketed the grass, creating magnificent ripples in its wake.

But Terra could not see the beautiful sight, because Terra was blind.

She stumbled slowly as the rest of the titans helped her to the shore, wearing her usual blue shorts and Grey t-shirt. The only difference now was the black blindfold that was tied around her eyes. Needless to say, she would be unable to fully use her powers again. Slade's laser was right on target, and Terra was shot right in the eyes, blinding her instantly during the fight.

It tore Beast Boy to see her like this. A person who was so full of life and innocence, now robbed of her chance to experience the beauty of the world, robbed of her chance to see her friends again. She was fated to spend her days in the darkness, never to see the mountains, the sun, or the affectionate faces of her friends, only darkness. A lifetime of solitude. He didn't believe it, although that one word kept recurring in his head, like some endless nightmare.

_"Blind!"_

"Its….alright Beast Boy, it was probably for the best." Terra began.

"Terra…aren't you…afraid?" Beast boy asked with concern.

"I've been running away all my life Beast boy… and it has gotten me nowhere. But you… you showed me that I should face up to my fears. You've taught me that only I can save myself…you've showed me, how to do the right thing."

"But to be alone Terra…in the darkness all by yourself."

"I'm not alone, I know you are all here. Besides, I still remember this." She leaned towards his direction, and softly, planted a kiss on Beast Boy's cheek. Beast Boy, taken aback, was at a loss for words. "I'm going to be brave now, just like you."

She walked onto the shore now, a transport already prepared for her. She would need recovery, a chance to rest and perhaps restore her vision.

"Robin has connections, don't worry, they'll take care of you and you'll recover, and when you do-" Cyborg began.

"I… can't." Terra replied, anticipating what Beast boy was about to say, walking slowly but keeping her head straight, she felt some comfort in Beast Boy's hand, and that perhaps, gave her the strength to do what she was going to say. "I can't come back. Not after all the horrible things that happened because of me. You were the best friends I ever had, but… I don't deserve any of it. … I don't think I can become a part of the team again. I won't hold it against you if you don't want me back, I'm no use to the team anyway, like this."

An awkward silence loomed over the group now, and they made the last stretch of the Journey to the beach, Beast Boy remembered this place well, the first night he met Terra, and the joy he had on that first encounter. Now…this scene, even more beautiful during the day, seemed like an empty shell…

Terra got onto the transport, an elderly man in a suit helping her on.

"Please. Take care of her." Beast boy said with a heartfelt sincerity.

"We will give her the best treatment I assure you sir." The man gave a slight polite bow back.

Robin gave an acknowledging nod, "Thank You Alfred."

"Always glad to be of service young master." Alfred gave a polite bow.

"Well guys, I guess its goodbye… I am so glad I've met you, all of you."

"Terra. Wait." Raven stepped up to the transport, and clasped both of Terra's hands.

"What is this…." Terra asked, feeling the object that Raven just placed in her hand. Beast boy couldn't believe his eyes, what shocked him even more was what the rest of the team said.

"Remember Terra. You are a Titan." Robin began.

"And our friend!" Starfire continued.

"Always was." Cyborg remarked.

And raven, the last one to talk, gave Terra a friendly embrace. "Always will be."

Terra, taken aback had absolutely no reply for what was just said. She grasped the communicator firmly in her hand, felt the large "T" engraved on its surface. Though the team could not see through the blindfold around her eyes, Terra felt began to cry. She was forgiven.

"Thank you everyone…thank you."

She sniffed, then disappeared into the transport, which began speeding off into the distance. Beast boy, his eyes stinging from the tears, stood at the edge of the rocks, apart from his team, and watched regrettably as the boat disappeared into the horizon.

---------

Robin sat uneasily in the monitor room, stared angrily at the cold mask on his table, the mask that would give him the same mocking face every time he stared into it. No more.

He reflected on how naïve he was before. How many nights he had spent with his obsession in finally bringing the villain down. Now his eyes were open.

Everything he had gathered throughout the years from Slade, broken masks, robot parts, they were all discarded now, Robin personally smashing each mask that he had taken. He had put the ghost to rest, Slade was not invincible, not some puzzle that had to be solved, and Robin would no longer give Slade the satisfaction of knowing that he dominated his mind. The last battle had shown that Slade could be outsmarted, and so, the ghost, that had haunted him ceased to exist.

From now on, he was just an ordinary criminal now.

The illusion, the façade, was gone.

"We've stopped Slade again." Robin began. "But this time. The cost… was too much."

"Yes…." Starfire, surprised that Robin noticed her enter the room, landed gently behind him while he brooded over the computer in his chair.

"I'm sorry Star, I should have told the team about my plan. I guess…I thought that I was the only one would could really stop Slade." Robin offered his apology gloomily.

"It is no problem robin, but I hope now….that you can start by trusting us more." Starfire said shyly as she placed a sympathetic hand on Robin's shoulder. The boy wonder did not take his eyes away from the mask that sat on the table.

"The last time I did this Star, I played right into his hands….almost got you and all the others destroyed. I can't help but think that this time….it is all my fault. I can see it now, all the times that I tried to stop Slade on my own, I actually…risked my team, my friends. In my pursuit of Slade, I had always been willing to pay a price, whether as Red X or as his apprentice, but now…I think we've paid too high a price. And it's all my fault…I don't think I have what it takes anymore…to lead you guys if I treat your lives so lightly."

"Robin, you must not demean yourself so. You are our leader, you have always made a decision based on what is best. We trust you. Do not take it that way. Terra… us, we are a team, and a team is suppose to take risks for each other. We will always stand by your side."

"Starfire…." Robin said softly, looking up over his shoulder behind her.

The Tamaranian gave a slight blush. "Yes?"

"Thank you." He turned around now, and to her surprise, Robin gave her an embracing hug.

"This is the last straw," Robin began as he scanned the dark room. All the titans around him nodded in agreement. "For all the crimes he has done, for all the pain that he caused, for all the lives that he ruined. We will make Slade answer for them, and pay."

"I tracked Overload's signal to a subterrainean location outside the city. I believe that is where he is right now." Cyborg said in a serious manner.

"Slade is going to pay." Beast Boy's tears were gone now, and he turned around to his team, each word ushered from his mouth was deathly serious.

"We will end this." Starfire said reassuringly.

"Once, and for all." Raven ended it.

"Alright Titans. Let's go."

----

The screen flickered, and Slade watchedwith amusement as the Titans led that traitorous apprentice from their tower. He had just made it back to his headquarters, the old wound in his shoulder healing nicely as he applied the necessary medical procedures. It was an amusing encounter, and he certainly did not expect Robin to hurt him. It certainly made things more interesting.

The computer screen gave a beep now, and Slade watched the screen with satisfaction as the hacking program finished its function.

"Excellent…" He said with a tone of satisfaction as he watched the fruits of his labour come to life. Already, the machinery in the base was coming to life, working overtime to pump out Slade's latest project.

There was never a project Omega to steal, not in the physical sense. Alpha was the prototype shell, the body of the weapon. While Omega was the program, which would run the hardware. Thus he only needed to blackout the city to steal it, hacking into Lexcorp's weak defenses from the back up Mainframe Core. As the download finished on the screen, Slade could not help but give a satisfying smile. Everything had gone according to plan, and he got what he wanted….and as an added bonus.

"I trust you have made good use of the destruction of Titan Tower's security." Slade spoke to no one in particular, and his reply came quickly with a snicker from the darkness, as the new figure entered from the shadows.

"Almost too easy." He replied, clipping on his newly acquired equipment from the tower, it gave a satisfying click as he put it on.

"I am glad to hear it. Now then, since I have done a favour for you, you will do one for me." His mask gave a sinister glint as he turned around in the dim light.

"Whatever you need…partner." The figure gave a shrug.

"Not now…but later…much later. By the way…you have the package?"

A wrapped up object smacked on the ground now, the figure throwing it at Slade's feet.

"Excellent, now…for the other half of our bargain, I shall inform you of it when the time is right."

"Doesn't matter to me." The figure said casually, leaving the room triumphantly, he got what he wanted, and as he left, he pondered on what to do next. It had been so long since he had had this…power, and now he was determined to rebuild the legend that had been put to rest a year ago.

Red X was back in town.

Slade meanwhile, continued looking at the monitor, saw that the Titans were planning their next move. The screen was full of static, but Slade did not need to fix it, for he could clearly make out the picture of Robin as he explained the next plan to the team.

_"Let's end this once and for all.."_

Slade gave a snicker… "This will end all right Robin…For you." Then he looked over his shoulder, saw the gigantic figure of Overload, and next to him, a new even more sinister monster forming up. The first fruits of his project.

"Alpha and Omega Titans….." He said with a calm voice as more sinister cackles of electricity filled the room.

"The beginning…. Of your end."

**THE END (?)**

Haha don't hate me for the ending this is an episode ending remember? Which means room for a sequel! besides, you should know by now No one out plans slade . P

Anyways thanks for reading! And to answer the inevitable question, will there be a sequel? Yes and no. yes in the sense that i thought of it, no in the sense that i haven't actually planned it. The next story im going to write is more of a side track of this one, and with a much lighter tone and different villain (Although it will ALL connect back to this trust me.)

Anyways, thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it ;)


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